A balance of the fires that affect the country was delivered by Minister Carolina Tohá during midday this Sunday, December 25. In the instance, the authority made an important call for the prevention of emergencies, and announced a Mitigation Plan that will be carried out by Conaf.
The minister of Interior, Carolina Tohá, delivered a balance regarding the forest fires that affect different areas of the country. Onemi authorities were also present at the event.
Along with the report, he also made an urgent call to the community and institutions to work to prevent accidents, and announced a Mitigation Plan of them, which will be developed by Conaf.
The authority began the spokesperson by thanking the brigade members for their presence and all those who were supporting the control of the flames, especially during the night before Christmas.
Having said the above, Tohá emphasized that the Government and the State will not leave the families affected by the accidents alone. “We are going to support them not only in this critical moment of the fight against the fire, but also in the aftermath”.
“We have a situation in the country where hard work has been done. Between yesterday and today, 70 fires have been fought, of which 32 are extinguished and 38 active. Of those assets there are 28 controlled and 10 in combat “said.
fire balance
Regarding emergencies, there are two fires that are on Red Alert. These are Chiguayante, “the one that gives us the greatest concern.” And the second – which is a single incident but covers two communes – corresponds to the San Pedro fire in the RM and the Santo Domingo fire in the Valparaíso region.
The aforementioned emergency is of great magnitude, and has left more than 500 hectares of vegetation consumed. Despite the above, its condition is content, but the Red Alert continues.
Regarding the fire in Viña del Mar, it is in a controlled situation and has left the Red Alert. However, as the minister stated, “this does not mean that it is extinct, but it does not represent a direct alert for the population.”
In the case of Chiguayante, in the Bío Bío region, it is also on Red Alert, where most of the affected territory corresponds to forest land. Despite this, there is concern that the flames will reach homes, which is why a large combat team is currently deployed, which includes work by land and by air.
It should be noted that there is no eviction instruction for the area.
Mitigation Plan
The head of Interior and Public Security announced in the instance that Conaf is planning the restoration of the entire creek that burned. The foregoing corresponds to a Fire Mitigation Plan, which would support the work of preventing emergencies.
“The Mitigation Plan is to take a series of prevention measures together with the community. That includes cutting grasslands, clearing illegal dumpsites. Activate firebreak works, where vegetation has grown, places of high risk”Tohá indicated.
Call for prevention
The authority also made a special call to the institutions and the community to work on the prevention of emergencies. In this line, he assured that, “when there is a tragedy like the one that occurred in Viña, perhaps it is the moment in which we can become aware of how important prevention is.”
“If we had had adequate fire breaks or cleared the place where the fire started, we probably wouldn’t have to regret all the consequences that we are suffering today,” he added.
He continued with, “I call on the institutions to put the same energy into prevention that we put into dealing with emergencies. You have to cheer up before it catches on, to prevent it from turning on.”
The minister also stated that extraordinary resources are being allocated to said Mitigation Plan, to “prevent other families from living the hell of two days ago again.”