fire

After several weeks of ferocious forest fires in Chile, the death toll has risen to 11 people, over 1,600 homes have been destroyed and more than 500,000 hectares affected – including many century-old vineyards in Maule in particular. With the help of emergency services from several other countries and 20,000 firefighters, the fires are finally coming under control and the ‘state of emergency’ was lifted this morning.

As the ash begins to settle, and the new reality for the region kicks in, here are some ways in which you can help:

Volunteer. Not yet! The priority is for emergency services to have access to stop the fires, and eager volunteers are explicitly asked not to travel to the affected regions. However once the fires are completely out, reconstruction and replanting can begin. It will take years to restore the homes, wildlife, vineyards and plantations of the region, so there will be ample volunteering opportunity for years to come. Here is a list of authorised volunteer groups and for those specifically interested in reconstruction of homes and replanting of native forests, register at Broota. If you are already in the area (immediate area, officials are asking for minimum travelling to the region unnecessarily), there is a list of what each district needs (mainly bringing bottled water, food and equipment for the firefighters and evacuated) to the affected regions here.

Donate. There are several crowdfunding campaigns happening for those affected by the fires. Here are some official charities that are also working specifically towards the cause and asking for financial donations (they also accept foreign transfers).

• Techo para Chile (a roof for Chile) is planning to build 500 houses with the money raised over the coming weeks, you can also volunteer to help with the construction by signing up online.
• Psicologos Voluntarios (Volunteer Psychologists) is an organisation offering free emergency counseling services in the regions to help those affected by the fires with some psychological care and emotional support.
• The Red Cross is asking for financial donations as well as emergency supplies and blood donations for emergency aid to the regions affected by fire.
• The College of Veterinarians is accepting donations for a special campaign where they are providing emergency care for the thousands of animals that have been caught in and affected by the fires. Qualified veterinarians in Chile are also encouraged to volunteer.
• Hogar de Cristo has already achieved their fundraising goal to construct 2000 homes and 3 schools, so now they are aiming for a community centre, technology salon and landscaped areas in Hualqui.

Drink Chilean Wine. It might sound too pleasurable to be helpful, but investing in Chilean wine (and all produce from the country) will help bring more funds into the country. The government is estimating that the fires will cost Chile around USD $333 million, so every little helps. With regards to wine, try to look for small producers from Maule who have been the worst affected (Bisogno and Cancha Alegre both lost vineyards). Garage Wines have sold out of their fundraising wine offer, but we will keep you updated of any other wine-related initiatives.

Visit Chile in 2017/18. Tourism is one of the most important activities for Chile, and your visit will help strengthen the local economy. While it isn’t advisable to travel the region right now, another sad outcome of a catastrophe is that people often avoid the affected regions for years to come, which can have a crippling impact on its recovery. Maule, Itata and Bio Bio are three of the wine regions affected, which offer a unique experience in Chile with beautiful old vineyards and quaint villages that have an important tradition of local artisans. Hire a car from Santiago (or fly into Concepcion) and spend a week exploring the wine regions, meeting local producers, and rejuvenating the local economy.

Do you have a fundraising initiative to share? Tell us in the comment box below!

Chile’s central valleys are battling several forest fires which have destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of forests and agriculture land in two weeks. As stories of damaged vineyards begin to surface, the intensity of the fires has escalated over the weekend moving from ‘red alert’ to a national ‘catastrophe’ affecting over 450,000 hectares.

The hot weather (with days over 40°C), prolonged drought and windy conditions have meant that the fires are spreading at speeds of up to 4,200 meters an hour. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes in the regions of Colchagua and Maule and people are being advised to stay indoors to protect themselves from the smoke pollution and dangerous ash in the sky. There is so much smoke from the fires that last Wednesday the NASA space station captured images of the smoke from space.

Around the country there are almost 50 fires still blazing and volunteer fire fighters and the national forest corporation (CONAF) have been deployed over several regions. Over the weekend, and after growing local pressure, the government requested foreign aid to help extinguish the fires by declaring a ‘state of catastrophe’.

However many locals believe the upgrading of the fires to a national disaster and request for national aid is simply too little, too late. “This decision was taken way too late – we were calling for help since Monday,” says William Arévalo, the mayor of Santa Cruz, one of the worst affected areas. “We haven’t had any response from the government until now. We have been an entire week with this inferno. We have lost thousands of hectares of native forests.”

The fires this week are considered one of the worst wildfires in Chile’s history and the land will take over a decade to recover and regrow.

Is the government’s declaration of a ‘state of catastrophe’ too little, too late? Share your opinion with us in the box below!

For CONAF’s latest reports on the fire situation, you can read this link.