Some 1,500 houses destroyed overnight in Chile forest fire

Some 1,500 houses burnt down in the Chilean town of Santa Olga overnight on Wednesday, January 25th, the government said on Thursday, as the worst wildfires in the country's modern history ravage wide swaths of the central-south regions.

The mayor of the city of Constitucion, Carlos Valenzuela, said the fire service had abandoned Santa Olga at 1.30 A.M. in order to preserve their own lives due to the strength of the flames.

He said that between 6,000 and 7,000 people in the region had lost their homes, whilst government figures released on Thursday said that seven people have died, 298 were injured, 1192 evacuated and 1088 in shelters, as a result of the flames.

Among those affected in Santa Olga was this man.

"We have been threatened by the fires for three days, and late yesterday afternoon around 10 P.M. the fire began. We had our hands tied because we are paying rent in the lower sector, and the fire came in thick. We were desperate, there was no remedy, there were already only a few of us here. Those who stayed were going round in circles, because I took my bag and went off to the city of Constitucion, we lost three houses we had here, there was nothing we could do," he said.

"I managed to get everyone out of the house, but the house burnt down even with the doors closed. All the clothes (I am wearing) is borrowed, the socks, the boots," said another resident.

Forest fires are a regular feature of Chile's hot, arid summers, but a nearly decade-long drought combined with historically high temperatures have created tinder-dry conditions.

International help from France, the United States, Peru and Mexico has been pouring into Chile as the fires swept through forested hills and into neighboring towns, scorching homes, industry and the region's world-renowned vineyards. The country last week declared a state of emergency.

As of Wednesday, 85 separate fires had been recorded, covering some 469,500 acres - more than twice the area of New York City.

Chile's Conaf forestry service said that 35 of the fires were still out of control.

At least some of the fires may have been started intentionally and there had been a number of arrests in relation to ongoing investigations, said Bachelet.