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Los Lagos Incorporates Night Brigades and New Aircraft for Wildfire Prevention and Control

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With 289 firefighters, plus 3 helicopters and an Air Tractor 802 aircraft, CONAF Los Lagos Region will face the period of highest wildfire occurrence. In total, there will be 26 brigades, two of them nocturnal and 24 working during the day.

Regarding aerial resources, three helicopters will be stationed in Puerto Montt, Chiloé (based in Castro), and Palena Province. The Air Tractor (AT) aircraft, with a 3,000-liter water-dropping capacity, will be based in Osorno and can operate throughout the Los Lagos Region wherever required.

The event held at the La Paloma airfield in Puerto Montt was led by Regional Presidential Delegate Paulina Muñoz, who emphasized working on wildfire prevention: "Today, we present the regional wildfire prevention and combat plan with all authorities, firefighters, and Puerto Montt Mayor Rodrigo Wainraihgt, because we understand this issue is urgent. We must all work together to prevent this crime. A wildfire is a crime, and to prevent it, we need the entire community's help. The government has allocated over 5 billion pesos to prevent and combat wildfires," stated the regional authority.

Meanwhile, the Regional Minister of Agriculture, Tania Salas, stressed, "We are highly energized as we begin a new wildfire season. We are very prepared, with 26 brigades—two of them nocturnal. We have three helicopters and an aircraft based in Osorno. For this, we need the support of municipalities and the entire community in a coordinated effort led by CONAF."

Puerto Montt Mayor Rodrigo Wainraihgt highlighted the coordinated work among all institutions: "I want to acknowledge the work with Presidential Delegate Paulina Muñoz and Miguel Leiva, CONAF Regional Director. As the Municipality of Puerto Montt, we will create 47,000 linear meters of firebreaks. Additionally, with our public safety team and drones, we will patrol and monitor areas identified by CONAF as critical wildfire hotspots. We will also have a CONAF official in the municipal surveillance room—all these actions aim to prevent wildfires."

Aligning with these efforts, CONAF Regional Director Miguel Leiva thanked all present regional authorities. He stated, "We are united to combat wildfires. We don’t want what happened in other regions of the country to occur here. We ask the community to help by reporting any signs of wildfires through CONAF’s hotline, 130. Here, we are all united to prevent and fight wildfires."