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Forest Fires: Georeferenced Patrols Are the Main Preventive Action by Municipalities

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• Municipal offices in the Region are creating firebreaks and cleaning land to reduce the occurrence of disasters in the upcoming high-temperature season.

The communes severely affected by the 2023 mega forest fires are currently preparing for the next high-temperature season, during which such disasters could occur again.

Prevention is based on the development of internal communal emergency and disaster risk prevention plans, which must undergo review by the National Disaster Prevention and Response Service (Senapred).

In the case of the communes listed below, not all have final approval yet but are in the process of obtaining it, so they are executing the plans registered there.

Santa Juana
The head of the Disaster Risk Management Department of the Santa Juana Municipality, Edison Fonseca, stated, "Currently, we comply with Law 21.364, which stipulates that all plans had to be submitted by August 7, 2023. The plans were submitted, Senapred reviewed them, the observations were addressed, and we now have the Santa Juana Communal Emergency Plan approved with favorable reports from Senapred."

"It involves activating the different phases of emergency response at the communal level. If there is a larger emergency, it escalates to the regional level and is linked with Senapred's other emergency plans," Fonseca explained, adding that communal resources are activated first, and other institutions are mobilized depending on the type of emergency.

Before the mega fires that affected Santa Juana in 2023, there was no emergency plan. "The current plan helps systematize, organize, and establish an institutional framework for responding to major emergencies, especially forest fires," he specified.

The Committee for Disaster Risk Management (Cogrid) for the preventive mitigation and preparation phases for the new forest fire season was held in early September in Santa Juana.

"We are designing a plan to create firebreaks around critical infrastructure and high-density housing areas. We are in agreement with Corma, and they will support us in implementing them," Edison Fonseca detailed.

"The municipality has machinery and is developing a maintenance schedule for rural roads, which also improves evacuation routes," described the Emergency Officer of the Santa Juana Municipality.

Meetings are being held with rural communities to raise awareness and encourage residents to establish their own defense lines around their homes.

Arauco
Patrols and access to technologies like georeferencing, which complement preventive patrols, are among the actions deemed effective by Carlos Montalba, Emergency and Disaster Risk Reduction Officer of the Arauco Commune.

"We have an updated emergency plan approved by Senapred. But there is a final one being worked on, with annexes currently under review, to be submitted next week to Senapred for verification and approval," Montalba explained.

Regarding why these plans take time to be submitted to Senapred for approval or feedback, the Arauco Emergency Officer noted that these documents require highly specific annexes for different risk scenarios like forest fires, floods, earthquakes, and tsunamis, which must be prepared by expert entities.

So far, joint efforts with other organizations, such as Arauco companies and firefighters, have been carried out through preventive Cogrid meetings. Risk zones are evaluated, and the municipality is establishing firebreaks.

"Last year, we did this preparation and had far fewer fire incidents affecting the commune," he emphasized.

For the Arauco Emergency Officer, there is no doubt that preventive work has paid off, especially patrols on the hottest days, aided by georeferencing technology, which has helped prevent forest fires. "We already have this technology and use it mainly on those days, conducting field work and all necessary actions to mitigate fire risks," he said, adding, "Our team is already working on creating these firebreaks."

"We know that in many cases, people intentionally start fires without realizing the damage they cause, which is why we conduct our preventive patrols," Montalba stated.

Florida
The Director of Environment and Emergency Officer of the Florida Municipality, Raúl Parra, explained that they are also in the process of reviewing their disaster risk reduction plan. However, the communal emergency plan will also be renewed through a company hired via Senapred.

"We are working with over 20 sectors in the commune," he said. Preventive actions include building firebreaks and holding educational talks for residents.

For communications, they have a portable radio system, but Parra noted the importance of upgrading to digital systems in the future.

"Our commune spans over 612 square kilometers, 50% of which is forest plantations—large companies like Arauco own over 30%, and the rest are small private owners," he stated, adding that some smaller producers have dry grasslands, for which the municipality lacks an ordinance but strives to educate on fire prevention.

"Additionally, many fires here in Florida are intentional. We urge people to clean around their homes," he said.

Monthly meetings with neighborhood leaders include discussions on prevention. "Residents who live permanently in Florida know what to do on their properties," Raúl Parra affirmed.

"Moreover, 90-93% of rural areas have weekly waste removal. Some sectors require periodic cleaning of micro-dumps," Parra explained, adding that education, information, and community collaboration are their main protective factors.

Source:DiarioConcepcion.cl