Overview
- More than 50,000 people have been evacuated as emergency crews battle 14 to over 20 active fire fronts in the country’s center‑south.
- Nighttime curfews were ordered in communes including Penco, Nacimiento and Laja to secure evacuations and deter crime, and the Armed Forces were deployed under the catastrophe decree.
- Authorities reported at least 18 fatalities by late Sunday, a provisional count that President Gabriel Boric said will increase as searches continue.
- High temperatures, drought‑dry vegetation and gusty winds have complicated suppression, with smoke at times limiting aerial operations; over 80 emergency alerts were issued to residents.
- Chile is coordinating external assistance, with the United States announcing support, while across the Andes major fires in Argentina’s Chubut continue and have intensified political disputes over firefighting budgets and land use.