Collected photo

SANTIAGO, Chile, Jan 18, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Chilean President Gabriel Boric 
declared a state of emergency on Sunday for two southern regions where raging 
wildfires have forced about 20,000 people to evacuate their homes.

Firefighters were battling 19 blazes across the country, 12 of which were in 
the regions of Nuble and Biobio, south of the capital Santiago.

"In the face of the ongoing serious fires, I have decided to declare a state 
of natural disaster for the Nuble and Biobio regions," the left-wing 
president said in a post on X.

"All resources are available."

The government has not said whether the fires killed anyone or how many homes 
had been impacted.

Alicia Cebrian, the director of the National Service for Disaster Prevention 
and Response, told local media that about 20,000 people had been evacuated.

She said most of the evacuations were in the Bibio cities of Penco and 
Lirquen, which have a combined population of around 60,000 people.

Images broadcast by local television showed the flames in both cities, with 
charred cars in the streets.

Wildfires have severely impacted south-central Chile in recent years.

In February 2024, several fires broke out simultaneously near the city of 
Vina del Mar, northwest of Santiago, resulting in 138 deaths, according to 
the public prosecutor's office.

About 16,000 people were affected by those fires, authorities said.