Hundreds of people are missing as wildfires rage through central and southern Chile. The worst affected area is the Valparaíso Region, with some residential areas of the Valparaíso city, Viña Del Mar and Quilpue destroyed. According to official figures more than 130 people have died; at least 370 are reportedly missing in Viña del Mar. About 14,000 homes have been destroyed. Chile's president, Gabriel Boric, said the blaze was "the worst catastrophe to hit the country since the earthquake of 27th February 2010", a disaster in which more than 500 perished. He declared a two-day national mourning period. Chile has seasonal wildfires every year, but the speed and deadliness of this blaze are unprecedented.

​​​​​​​12th February 2024

Viña del Mar, a coastal city of about 300,000 people, is normally cooled by sea breezes, but on 2nd February it started to become enveloped in smoke from the forest fires burning in the nearby hills. Fanned by strong winds, flames quickly engulfed hillside neighbourhoods. Many residents ran for their lives, escaping uphill as the blaze advanced with terrifying speed.
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The fires broke out amid a heatwave that began in the last week of January. The region experienced unusually high temperatures, reaching up to 37ºC (99ºF), a situation worsened by the El Niño phenomenon and a drought that has affected the country over the last decade. The extreme conditions that cause wildfires to spread so quickly are known locally as “30-30-30”: the temperature is more than 30ºC (86ºF), humidity is less than 30% and wind speed is more than 30 knots (55.5 km/h or 34.5 mph).

According to officials, there is evidence that some of the fires could have been lit deliberately. However, the principal cause of the deadly wildfires is extreme weather and that, as the climate crisis worsens, many parts of the world are becoming increasingly at risk of events such as this.