Around 2,300 firefighters are fighting a total of 232 fires, according to the country’s Deputy Interior Minister Manuel Monsalve. 16 The fires started earlier Saturday. The state of emergency in the country has been extended to the region of Araucania, in addition to Nuble and Biobio, where most of the fires are raging. The state of emergency allows the military to be mobilized to fight the fires. Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico and Spain have all offered to send equipment and firefighters to help with the extinguishing effort. Firefighters in Puren in the Araucania region on February 4. Photo: JAVIER TORRES / AFP Almost 1,000 injured In addition to the 23 deaths, 979 people have been injured in connection with the fires. Earlier it was reported that 16 of them were seriously injured. One fire officer died while eight others were injured in the fight against the flames. Almost half of the dead were in the town of Santa Juana in Biobio, around 310 kilometers south of the capital Santiago. The three regions covered by the state of emergency are sparsely populated with large forest areas and many farms where grapes, apples and berries are grown for export. Local residents fight a forest fire in Santa Juana, Chile on February 4. Photo: AILEN DIAZ / Reuters – More common A fire hazard that had been considered extreme in Chile just three years ago has become more and more common every year, according to the country’s Interior Minister Carolina Tohá. – We are about to become one of the countries most vulnerable to fires, primarily due to the development of climate change, she says. There is currently a heat wave in Chile with temperatures as high as 40 degrees, making it more difficult to control the fires.
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At least 23 killed in forest fires in Chile – almost 1,000 injured – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
