Chile Wildfires Kill 15 as Local Mayor Accuses Government of Abandoning Burning Communities

Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile left at least 15 people dead on Sunday, prompting an extraordinary public rebuke from a local mayor who accused President Gabriel Boric's government of abandoning burning communities for hours whilst destruction mounted. Rodrigo Vera, mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region, made an emotional plea to the president after waiting four hours for federal assistance as flames consumed his town.

'Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no government presence,' Vera said. 'How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?' The criticism came despite Boric declaring a state of catastrophe for the Biobio and neighbouring Ñuble regions, located approximately 500 kilometres south of Santiago, and writing on social media that 'all resources are available'. Two dozen wildfires blazed through 8,500 hectares of forest and forced 50,000 people to evacuate, according to Chilean Security Minister Luis Cordero.

Midnight Inferno Traps Families in Homes

Residents in Penco described harrowing scenes as fires that began after midnight took them by surprise, trapping families in their homes. Many had assumed the flames would stop at the forest's edge and chose not to evacuate. 'Many people didn't evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,' John Guzmán, 55, said whilst surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze.

Juan Lagos, 52, described fleeing with his children through darkness as flames engulfed most of Penco, burning cars, a school, and a church. 'We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,' Lagos said. Charred bodies were discovered across fields, homes, along roads, and inside cars. 'From what we can see, there are people who died, and we knew them well,' Víctor Burboa, 54, said.

Deaths and Destruction

Fourteen of the 15 fatalities occurred in Penco, whilst the neighbouring port town of Lirquen was also severely impacted. Many Lirquen residents saved themselves by rushing to the beach to escape the advancing flames. One municipality in Concepcion reported 253 homes destroyed, though the total number of homes burned nationwide remained unclear.

Alicia Cebrian, director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention and Response, said most evacuations occurred in the Biobio towns of Penco and Lirquen, which have a combined population of around 60,000 people.

Firefighting Efforts

Firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames as strong winds and scorching weather hampered their efforts on Sunday, with temperatures topping 38°C. According to Chile's CONAF forestry agency, more than 20 forest fires were being fought across the country. The weather forecast remained dire for firefighters, with high temperatures and strong winds expected to continue.

The disaster comes less than two years after Chile's deadliest wildfires in history, when blazes near the city of Viña del Mar in February 2024 resulted in 138 deaths. Those fires affected approximately 16,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes across the Valparaíso region. The recurring pattern of deadly wildfires has raised questions about Chile's preparedness and emergency response capabilities.

Recurring Crisis

Chile's vulnerability to catastrophic wildfires has intensified in recent years, with extreme heat waves, prolonged droughts, and strong winds creating ideal conditions for rapid fire spread across South America. The country has experienced devastating wildfire seasons with alarming frequency, suggesting that what were once exceptional disasters are becoming more regular occurrences.

Mayor Vera's public criticism of the federal response highlights growing tensions between local authorities who face fires directly and a national government struggling to coordinate emergency responses across multiple regions simultaneously. The 14 deaths concentrated in a single town of 50,000 people represents a proportionally devastating loss for Penco's community, where residents described knowing many of the victims personally.