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It was a firestorm, something unusual

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Marcos Reyes is originally from Nacimiento and had a family property that had been abandoned for many years, surrounded by forestry plantations. But six years ago, they began developing it as an ecological farm, spanning 30 hectares.
"We started regenerating the existing native forest. We built a nice family home. We had water, storage ponds, and strengthened the plants through a drip system because the land is very arid. We installed solar panels, had no electricity issues, and I lived there," he said.

He admitted that every summer was challenging since they were surrounded by forestry plantations, but fires had always been manageable with planes or firefighters. However, no one anticipated that this year's event would be something extraordinary—full of uncontrollable energy. "It was a firestorm, something unusual."

The flames advanced so aggressively, reaching the Renaico area, combined with an ambient temperature of 40 degrees and 60 km/h winds. "When I was alerted, I was far away, and a grandson who was in Collipulli went to the property, but the fire was already a kilometer away."

High temperature
"My son managed to save a tractor by moving it to the parking area. He tried to rescue a quad bike but couldn’t. He passed through the flames because he knew the path. The situation was so extreme that poles over 30 meters away burned just from the heat," he recalled.
Years of work vanished in minutes, and Reyes estimates he lost around $300 million in labor alone, plus what he had invested in his home. "I wanted to preserve a native forest for my grandchildren so they could continue it. People called it the green lung because there was no place like this in Nacimiento," he lamented.

"It was a catastrophe that Chileans later forgot, as in other years, but this time it was devastating. I traveled through the area, and many people were left with nothing. Personally, I believe the fires were intentional, but that’s as far as we can go—we’ll never know for sure who was responsible," he concluded.