Fire in Viña del Mar, Chile, causes damage to at least 200 homes

A fire that broke out this Thursday afternoon in the upper area of Viña del Mar120 km from Santiago de Chilehas affected or destroyed some 200 homes, and the authorities ordered the evacuation of five sectors of that coastal city.

“Approximately 200 houses are burning,” said the commander of the Viña del Mar Fire Department, Patricio Brito, who was upset that some houses were destroyed due to the existence of vehicles in the middle of the streets, obstructing the passage and the firefighter work.

The National Emergency Office (Onemi), which decreed the communal red alert for Viña del Mar, ordered the evacuation of the Tranque Sur, Puerto Montt, Puerto Aysén, Cabritera, Forestal Alto, Siete Hermanas sectors and the Felipe Camiroaga takeover.

The fire, which tonight had not been controlled, was encouraged by wind gusts of between 40 and 50 kilometers per hour that complicated the work of forest brigade members and firefighters.

According to National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), the fire had consumed more than 80 hectares.

400 firefighters were working on the incident, almost all from companies in the Valparaíso region and some who came from the Santiago Metropolitan region.

“The fire started in a sector called Nueva Esperanza 2000, it crossed and reached these two plots, and it goes down to the north, towards Quinta Vergara through a deep ravine,” explained the mayor of Viña del Mar, Macarena Ripamonti.

Some of the evacuees left through Quinta Vergara, the venue where the Viña de Mar International Song Festival is held.

kg