Chile has been suffering from a
megadrought since 2010 – the worst for a thousand years. These
drought conditions exacerbate summer fires because the vegetation becomes more flammable. Since 30 January 2023, the
Ñuble region has maintained a preventive early warning due to the threat of forest fires as a result of high temperatures. The fires coincided with an unprecedented
heat wave in the south of the country, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius in southern areas. René Garreaud from the
University of Chile said the extremely high temperatures are driven by warm, naturally-recurring
Puelche winds blowing from the east, superimposed on a warmer climate. The interior minister, Manuel Monsalve, confirmed that 17 people had been arrested for possibly starting fires by such activities as welding or burning wool. Though South America has a long history of drought, Chile is among the most vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events, changes in seasonal temperatures and rainfall, wildfires, and sea-level rise (flooding). Poor territorial planning has been blamed for the ease of spread of the wildfires. In late August 2022, Christián Little, director of
National Forest Corporation (CONAF), explained in the Chilean Congress that there was a major risk of wildfires, large and simultaneous, from October 2022 to January 2023. It was argued that while 2022 had been a year with significant rains this had contributed to growth of grass that could produce fires in the
dry season. The agriculture committee of the congress was updated by CONAF with a new harsher forecast in January 2023. On a national level during the same period 25% of wildfires are thought by CONAF to be intentional. The eventual spread of fires by wildlife such as
rabbits-on-fire has been mentioned by officials but knowledge about this is mainly based on
anecdotes and forest experts doubt the efficiency and relevance of this method of spread as rabbits-on-fire are likely move only a few meters before perishing or going out. Various specialists have pointed out the "human" and political causes of the fires that recurrently strike Chile. In 1974, the military dictatorship of
Augusto Pinochet signed a decree designed to subsidise the intensive forestry industry and the monoculture of
eucalyptus - a highly inflammable species - in the centre and south of the country. The NGO Bosque Nativo deplores "the great deficiencies in the management of these monocultures. The majority of plantations are in the hands of two large industrial companies" and points to "a lack of control over these forestry companies. This would allow the state to guarantee sustainable management of these plantations, taking into account economic, social and environmental aspects. The regulation of the real estate sector, accused of taking advantage of the fires to develop, is also demanded by several NGOs. President
Gabriel Boric has asked parliamentarians to urgently examine a draft law aimed at banning construction on burnt land for at least 30 years.
In 2017, central and southern Chile had already been hit by very large fires, with eleven deaths and 467,000 hectares burnt. Following these fires, the Centre for Climate and Resilience Sciences (CR2) published a report in 2020 recommending regulation of the forestry industry: "In a
climate change scenario that favours an increase in the frequency, extent and intensity of fires, [...] it is very important to generate policies aimed at the control of invasive alien species [mainly pines and eucalyptus] and the restoration of native ecosystems to reduce the probability of catastrophic events." == Impacts ==