$23 Billion Invested to Combat Forest Fires in Biobío
With an investment of $23.587 billion, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), officially launched the 2025-2026 Action Plan for the Prevention, Mitigation, and Control of Forest Fires in the Biobío Region.
The plan's objective is to strengthen the territory's preparedness for the upcoming high-temperature season, a period when the risk of forest fires increases considerably. The strategy includes investments in specialized personnel, aircraft, heavy machinery, detection technology, and robust inter-institutional coordination between public and private organizations.
This year, the initiative includes a total of 42 brigades, composed of approximately 600 firefighters, strategically distributed throughout the Biobío region: 17 brigades in the Concepción Province, 15 in the Biobío Province, and 10 in the Arauco Province.
Additionally, the operation of a total of 12 aircraft in the region is planned: five helicopters and five AT-802 planes, plus a heavy Hercules C-130 aircraft and a coordination plane, the latter two being national-level resources based in the area. The aircraft will be strategically distributed at Conaf bases and various regional airfields.
It is also noteworthy that, thanks to an agreement between Conaf and Corma, the Biobío Region will have a total of 88 remote sensing cameras installed at different points in the forest area to improve surveillance and early response.
Authorities Highlight Coordination
The launch was led by the Minister of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández, who was accompanied by the Regional Governor of Biobío, Sergio Giacaman; the Regional Presidential Delegate, Eduardo Pacheco; the Executive Director of Conaf, Rodrigo Illesca; the National Director of Senapred, Alicia Cebrián; and the Regional Manager of Corma, Margarita Celis.
During the ceremony, Minister Fernández highlighted the progress made in the country over the last four years in fire prevention and combat. "For the 2021-2022 season, the budget was $75 billion. Today, we exceed $160 billion nationally, an increase of over 110%, which is also reflected in the increased number of firefighters in the Biobío region," she stated.
Meanwhile, Regional Governor Sergio Giacaman valued the initiative and referred to the resources that the Regional Government has transferred to Conaf to strengthen its operational capacity. "I value that the government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Conaf, and Corma, has designed a resource-robust plan, which will undoubtedly allow for serious and effective combat against forest fires. However, I am convinced that the best strategy is always prevention. Nighttime forest brigades have been funded with nearly 800 million pesos, and around 3 billion for brigades in communes like Lebu and Los Ángeles. This demonstrates a concrete commitment, along with other initiatives that strengthen prepared communities working in various sectors to prevent fires," he affirmed.
The Executive Director of Conaf, Rodrigo Illesca, added that "the most important thing for us is prevention. We urgently call on all citizens to avoid causing fires, because preventing is always much easier and more effective than combating them. We have all the resources and organizations available to face emergencies, but our goal is to have no fires to fight. That is why we reinforce the message: the best fire is the one that does not occur."
Finally, the Regional Manager of Corma, Margarita Celis, referred to the resources that the private sector will provide in the region. "The joint effort between the State and the private sector includes more aircraft, specialized brigades, and support infrastructure. This year, the private sector is contributing 64 aircraft—21 in Biobío—and nearly 5,000 firefighters, 1,600 of them in the region," she concluded.