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Nearly 10,000 hectares saved in the precordillera wildfire

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Today marks exactly 14 days since the wildfire known as "San Patricio" began in the precordillera of the Ñuble region, which has burned 1,227 hectares of native forest.

During the afternoon of last Wednesday, firefighters from various communes across the region arrived at the Los Pellines area, more specifically at the "El Plan" estate, primarily to carry out prevention work aimed at stopping the fire from reaching homes.

The Miñihué hill is the main concern for authorities, as the fire has been descending along its slope. Just below lies the Chillán River, and a few meters further are the houses of the "El Plan" estate. Throughout Thursday, each home in the area had at least one fire truck stationed nearby in case embers reached the houses.

However, the firefighting efforts are being carried out by brigades from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf). They venture deep into the dense native forest to try to control the fire from the ground. But the task is complex.

The steep slopes of the hill make ground access nearly impossible. They must rely on helicopters to reach the area, descend to active hotspots, and carry out their work, which is often extremely difficult due to the terrain. Wildfires in these parts of the country can last weeks for this very reason: the topography.

Operational resources

Despite the challenges, as of this Thursday, over twenty resources have been deployed across the area, preventing the fire from consuming homes or further damaging the native forest of the Nevados de Chillán – Laguna del Laja Biological Corridor.

Specifically, on Thursday, resources included 13 ground brigades—one from the Valparaíso region—along with three mechanized brigades to reinforce on-the-ground operations.

The ground and aerial resources deployed by Conaf have saved nearly 10,000 hectares of native forest from the flames, largely due to the work of aircraft and the brigades.

Juan Salvador Ramírez, Conaf’s regional director, explained, "While there is a report of just over 1,200 hectares affected, it’s important to highlight that if we hadn’t arrived with resources from day one, easily 10,000 hectares could have been lost."

"We deeply regret the damage to the native forest. This is a topographical fire, with steep ravines, making direct combat very difficult. What we need now is for firefighters to continue assisting in protecting homes," emphasized Juan Salvador Ramírez, Conaf’s regional director.

Firefighters also provided details about their work since Wednesday, following the modification of the Red Alert and the threat to homes.

Carlos Navarrete, Commander of the Pinto Fire Department and emergency coordination lead, stressed that their current role is safeguarding.

"Only safeguarding in case of ember jumps. Efforts are concentrated on the El Plan estate, where there are about 50 houses. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, but we had previously conducted preventive patrols in the area," he said.

Neighbors' fears

The fire appears to be descending uncontrollably down the hillside. It’s somewhat frightening to see the flames and endless smoke rising from the forest. This is normal in such wildfires, and firefighters are already protecting homes, so they hope no houses will be affected.

Still, neighbors remain deeply concerned. Rodrigo Bustos owns a home in the El Plan estate and expressed his "unease," urging for more resources. "What we need from regional authorities, dependent on the central level of Ñuble—particularly Senapred and Conaf—is for them to effectively provide the material and human resources that the Red Alert declaration warrants. The response from specialized agencies has been delayed and only reactive," he explained.

Another resident views the situation more optimistically. "I’ve been impressed by the work, and we’ve learned a lot about how the fire is managed and fought. The community must stay calm. We see the fire advancing, but we’ve learned that it has to. The brigades have done incredible work to slow its progress. Over 180 people are being sheltered at our facility," said Marcelo Ruiz, director of the Fundación Conserva Tu Bosque, which provides lodging for firefighters during their operations.

Source:La Discusión