Chile Fire Toll: 11 Dead, 1,000 Homes Destroyed

VALPARAISO, Chile — A raging fire leaped from hilltop to hilltop in this colorful port city throughout the night and day on Sunday, killing at least 11 people and destroying at least 1,000 homes. More than 10,000 people were evacuated, including more than 200 female inmates at a prison.

And with hot dry winds stoking the embers, the fires were still burning out of control as a second night approached.

The blaze began Saturday afternoon in a forested area above ramshackle housing on one of the city's 42 hilltops, and spread quickly as hot ash rained down over wooden houses and narrow streets. Electricity failed as the fire grew, with towering, sparking flames turning the night sky orange over a darkening, destroyed horizon.

Eventually, neighborhoods on six hilltops were reduced to ashes, including one hill just several blocks from Chile's parliament building. And flames broke out again on at least two of those hills, burning o ut of control and threatening to consume other neighborhoods.

ALBERTO MIRANDA / AFP - Getty Images

Houses in flames during a fire in Valparaiso, about 70 miles west of Santiago, Chile, on April 12. Authorities decreed a red alert for the area after the fire consumed more than 100 houses.

"It's a tremendous tragedy. This could be the worst fire in the city's history," President Michelle Bachelet said as firefighters contained most of the blazes, mobilizing 20 helicopters and planes to drop water on hotspots Sunday.

The fire has destroyed 1,000 houses so far and authorities warned that the toll of death and damage could rise once authorities can enter the smoldering remains. Military Police Gen. Julio Pineda said 11 people were killed. Earlier Sunday, he said 16 died, but it turned out one family had been counted twice. More than 500 people were treated at hospitals, mostly for smoke inhalation.

Patricio Bustos, who directs the national forensics service, said DNA tests would be needed to identify some of the remains.

It was already the worst fire to hit the picturesque seaside city of 250,000 people since 1953, when 50 people were killed and every structure was destroyed on several of the city's hills.

While the fires were contained to the hills, Bachelet declared the entire city a catastrophe zone, putting Chile's military in charge of maintaining order.

"The people of Valparaiso have courage, have strength and they aren't alone," Bachelet said.

Valparaiso, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003, is known for colorful neighborhoods hugging hills so steep that people have to use staircases rather than streets. About 75 miles (120 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Santiago, it has a vibrant port and is home to Chile's national legislature.

But many homes in densely populated poorer areas above the city center have been built without water supplies or access points wide enough for fire trucks, so much of the fight was from the air.

"This is the worst catastrophe I've seen," said Ricardo Bravo, the regional governor. "Now we have to make sure the fire doesn't reach the city center, which would make this emergency much more serious."

While 1,250 firefighters, police and forest rangers battled the blaze, 2,000 Chilean sailors in combat gear patrolled streets to maintain order and prevent looting.

Shelters were overflowing. Bachelet toured some and announced that on Monday she would meet with each of her ministers to hear what each one is doing in response. "The situation is dramatic, but help is already arriving," she said.

Maria Elizabeth Diaz, eight months pregnant and trying to rest with her two sons in a shelter set up in Valparaiso's Greek School, said she had been hesitant to flee her home in Cerro Las Canas when she first learned that the hilltop above her was on fire.

"I didn't want to move because I was afraid they'd rob me, but I had to flee when I saw the fire was coming down the hill," she said. "I lost everything. Now I've been ordered to rest because I was having contractions. My little one knows that he can't arrive quite yet."

Another evacuee, Erica Gonzalez, 74, said her daughter and some neighbors had to carry her to safety because the fire burned her wheelchair.

"I was left in the street. My house was completely burned, and that of my daughter a block away," she said, visibly upset as she hugged a grandchild.

Some people returned home Sunday to discover total destruction.

"It's frightening, everything is burned," said Francisca Granados, who had spent the night with friends in the neighboring city of Vina del Mar.

Thick clouds of smoke surrounded the city prison, where nine pregnant inmates were transferred to a detention facility in the nearby city of Quillota. Another 204 female inmates were being evacuated to a sports arena. More than 2,700 male inmates will remain at the prison for now, prison guard commander Tulio Arce said.

- The Associated Press

First published April 13 2014, 3:40 AM