VALPARAISO: Fire-fighters backed by police and soldiers have spent a third day battling a massive blaze that has ravaged a huge swath of Chile’s historic port of Valparaiso.
A massive blaze in Valparaiso, Chilean port city, has killed at least 15 people and forced thousands to flee from their homes in the picturesque coastal city. More than 500 people were treated at hospitals, mostly for smoke inhalation.
Valparaiso is an oceanside city of 250,000 people surrounded by hills that form a natural amphitheatre. The compact downtown includes Chile’s second-largest port.
It could be yet another two days before they succeed in extinguishing the fire, whose cause is under investigation, officials said. So far, the inferno has consumed 1,140 hectares and 2,500 homes, leaving 11,000 homeless, according to Interior Minister of Chile.
The fire began on Saturday afternoon in a forested area above ramshackle housing on one of the city’s many hilltops, and spread quickly as high winds rained hot ash over wooden houses and narrow streets in the city.
Located about 135 km to the west of the capital Santiago, Valparaiso is one of the country’s most important ports. Its historic quarter has been declared a protected UNESCO world heritage site.
Many homes in the poorer areas above the city centre have been built without water supplies or access points that enable firefighters to intervene on the ground only. So much of the fight has been done from the air. Chile mobilized tens of helicopters and planes to drop water on hotspots.
While 1,250 firefighters, police and forest rangers battled the blaze, 2,000 Chilean sailors in combat gear patrolled streets to maintain law and order. Shelters were overflowing, and hospitals treated hundreds of people for breathing problems provoked by the smoke.
Weather forecasts called for high temperatures and strong winds, a combination that could exacerbate the disaster if the remaining flames were not put out in time.
