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Facing a Complex Season, Conaf Seeks to Recruit 3,300 Firefighters
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- They report an increase in "sixth-generation" wildfires or mega-fires, which require greater deployment to be controlled.
The regions between Valparaíso and La Araucanía, home to over six million people, are the focus of greatest concern as the wildfire season begins.
This area has been the scene of Chile's worst tragedies from wildfires, the most recent claiming 137 lives last February in Valparaíso.
Just a year earlier, Santa Juana in Biobío suffered the ravages of another wildfire, while in 2017, a firestorm devastated the town of Santa Olga in Maule.
"A vast territory," with high population density and "the worst meteorological conditions for such fires," describes Pablo Lobos, Fire Manager of the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf).
He refers to events known as "sixth-generation" or mega-fires, which are becoming more frequent and are a subject of global study, he asserts.
There is an interaction between multiple fires and the atmosphere, with "unpredictable, highly erratic behavior (...), thermal intensity, flame height, and spread speed," placing them "beyond control," he emphasizes.
Of the six or seven thousand wildfires annually in Chile, 90% are contained before burning five hectares, but 1% cause 80% to 90% of the damage.
A New Profile for Firefighting
As a new wildfire season approaches and echoes of the recent park ranger strike linger, Conaf is in full recruitment mode for firefighters.
The corporation highlights that since 2017, prevention and firefighting resources have increased, rising from around 1,600 to the 3,300 being enlisted for 2024-2025.
However, this process is overshadowed by the case of a firefighter being formally charged in the investigation of the Viña del Mar mega-fire.
"We are not exempt; it happens everywhere. In Chile, there have been cases in forestry companies, with convictions for starting fires," laments Lobos.
Though he notes that since last season, they have incorporated 15 psychologists who screen around five thousand applicants, with 5% rejected and another 5% flagged "with observations."
He also points out that they have had to enhance training for new firefighters, who—unlike in the past—often lack skills in using hand tools, chainsaws, or water pumps and are less physically prepared, requiring preliminary training.
The season is harsh, like this summer in Puerto Montt, where a fire lasted over two weeks and cost more than $12 billion, according to Conaf director Christian Little—nearly 9% of the budget.
Further south, Lobos describes "areas gradually joining this group, with fewer fire occurrences," but with extreme winds, vast hard-to-access terrain, making them "increasingly complex, necessitating reinforced ground and aerial resources."
Source: subscription edition ofEl Mercurio
