“It’s absolute mayhem,” Maria Ines Hernandez, a social worker in the town of Santa Juana in the battered Bobio farming region, explains the catastrophic forest fires wreaking havoc in central Chile that have claimed 24 lives so far. “We’ve seen numerous homes reduced to mere cinders and are now living in fear of the flames igniting again. Where will we go for refuge?” she adds in a worried tone.
Santa Juana, with a population of approximately 13,000 residents and neighboring farming estates located amidst rolling hills, is at the epicenter of the inferno that has been blazing for the past five days. Ten of the casualties occurred in the town, including five members of a single family.
“This is rugged terrain with limited access,” says the mayor, Ana Albornoz. “The majority of homes were destroyed as we received no assistance. With air support, we could have salvaged most of the homes, but that wasn’t the case,” Hernandez adds, expressing her disappointment.
The aftermath of the fires in Santa Juana is nothing short of a disaster zone: burnt out buildings, charred vehicles, and a smoke-filled, orange-hued sky. The poor, isolated areas that were engulfed in the flames are also witnessing violent clashes between the Mapuche Indigenous people and the government, timber companies, and private landowners.
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