Chile’s deadliest forest fire is believed to have been exacerbated by a lack of water
When a fast-moving forest fire swept through the towns of Viña del Mar and Quilpué on Chile’s Pacific coast last month, the flames engulfed residents in the streets, destroyed homes and overwhelmed the power grid. Power went out, communications failed, and not enough water reached a critical line of defense: the fire hydrants.
In this video report, firefighters and residents of the two cities told New York Times reporters that insufficient water had hampered efforts to save homes and stop the fire’s advance, ultimately forcing them to evacuate parts of the two cities. to leave.
The wildfire — the deadliest in Chile’s history, killing 134 people and destroying thousands of homes — flared out of control almost from the start, fueled by extreme climate conditions, high winds and flammable trees.
A lack of water made the situation worse, firefighters and residents said.
Chile, in the midst of a prolonged drought, has continued problems providing enough water to fight forest fires in urban areas.
In the Valparaiso region, which includes Viña del Mar and Quilpué, forest fire experts say unregulated development has made towns and villages particularly vulnerable to wildfires.
“It’s a supply and demand problem,” said Miguel Castillo, a professor at the University of Chile’s Forest Fires Engineering Laboratory, who works with cities on wildfire prevention measures.
“Often there is no water available for firefighting,” he said, adding that the problem had persisted in the region for years. “And now it has gotten even worse.”
Esval, the private company that supplies water to the Valparaiso region, denied there had been any problems with fire hydrants in the fire zone, saying the local water system was running “at full capacity.”
As the fire raged, Esval announced reductions in water supplies outside the fire zone to increase pressure on the system.
Daniel Garín, a 13-year veteran of the Quilpué Fire Department, told The Times that problems with water pressure and out-of-service fire hydrants existed even before February’s wildfire.
In early January, after a supermarket in Viña del Mar burned down, the city’s fire chief, Patricio Brito, decided told a local TV station that there was no water in the hydrants, and said: “The reality is that the water in this sector is zero, zero.”
A local congressman, Andrés Celis Monttsaid at the time that “serious issues” with the fire hydrants needed to be investigated and addressed before the peak wildfire season, which typically lasts until April in Chile.
On February 2, in Viña del Mar’s El Olivar neighborhood, Yanet Alarcón said she watched helplessly as the forest fire approached and the water hose she used to extinguish her two-story home dried up. She was forced to flee and her house was consumed by fire.
“When I came back, there were flames here, flames there, the fire was still burning inside,” Ms. Alarcón said through her tears.
In Quilpué, Mauricio Miranda said firefighters had failed to find water in nearby hydrants and waited for new supplies to arrive as his house burned.
“My house was completely destroyed and there was no water in the house, which shows that the fire department did not wash it clean,” he said.
Mr. Miranda and a dozen families in the Canal Chacao neighborhood said they planned to meet with Esval to demand compensation, claiming that the company’s inability to supply enough water to fire hydrants had led to the destruction of their homes led.
Arijeta Lajka and Kristen Williamson contributed reporting.