Wildfires kill 20 in Chile, raze towns for third day

Wildfires that have killed at least 20 people in southern Chile raged for a third day on Monday, January 19, 2026, having already destroyed an area the size of Detroit and 1,000 homes. The blazes started on Saturday in the Nuble and Biobio regions, about 500 kilometers south of Santiago, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds at the height of the southern hemisphere summer. President Gabriel Boric confirmed that while some fires have been contained, others remain 'very active' and new fires have broken out in the Araucania region. Both Nuble and Biobio have been declared disaster areas, allowing for the deployment of soldiers to patrol landscapes now filled with melted cars and rubble. Residents like Yagora Vasquez of Lirquen described fleeing 'a wave of fire, not water,' with many returning on Monday to salvage what they could from their homes. Over 3,500 firefighters are fighting the blazes, and a 2024 study linked the increasing frequency of such extreme fire seasons in south-central Chile to long-term drying and warming trends caused by climate change. This follows a devastating fire in February 2024 near Viña del Mar that killed 138 people. Similar wildfires have recently consumed over 15,000 hectares in Argentine Patagonia.

SOURCE: https://www.channelstv.com/2026/01/20/chile-wildfires-rage-for-third-day-entire-towns-wiped-out/