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Penco Announces Lawsuit Over Forest Fires Following Emergency Cogrid Meeting

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The Municipality of Penco, together with the Presidential Delegation of Biobío, led an emergency Cogrid meeting to address the multiple forest fire outbreaks recorded in the commune since last weekend. During the meeting, the municipality confirmed the filing of a criminal complaint against those found responsible for the intentional nature of the fires, in addition to providing evidentiary material to the competent authorities to facilitate the prosecution and punishment of this crime.

The meeting reinforced coordination with Senapred, Carabineros, and Public Security, aiming to identify critical points, strengthen preventive patrols—including the OS5 unit—and prevent new outbreaks. It is worth recalling that over the weekend, seven simultaneous fires were recorded in different rural sectors and in Lirquén, areas with abundant vegetation and high potential for spread due to wind conditions.

The acting presidential delegate, Humberto Toro, valued the municipality's work and explained that, at the regional level, over 90% of fires are associated with negligence or unintentional causes, although he specified that acts of provocation have also been detected in Penco. "Today we coordinated actions to confront the fires, advance in clearing firebreaks on private properties with the support of companies and institutions, and strengthen the prosecution of those who carry out burns," he stated.

For his part, the Mayor of Penco, Rodrigo Vera, stated that the information gathered by the community and the coordination with police and Firefighters point to intentionality in the weekend's incidents. "We gathered evidence related to one of these events and, this morning, we filed a complaint against those responsible," he indicated. The mayor also highlighted the follow-up that will be given to the legal action and called on the community to adopt preventive measures.

The municipality reported that the Public Security Directorate maintains patrols in rural areas with drones equipped with thermal cameras, both to detect early outbreaks and to provide evidence in response to citizen reports.

Meanwhile, the regional director of Senapred Biobío, Alejandro Sandoval, warned that during the day there were 17 active fire outbreaks in the region, being addressed by Firefighters, Conaf, and forestry companies. He also reminded that a Red Alert remains in effect for the commune of Los Ángeles due to the fire in Colonia Santa Fe, which forced the evacuation of homes.

Authorities reiterated the call to get information through official channels, prepare homes and surroundings, and follow on-the-ground instructions during emergencies. They warned that the season will be complex and could extend until April or May, due to high temperatures, humidity conditions, and the accumulation of vegetative fuel in various locations.