Sponsors
Penco, Tomé, and Florida Form Forest Fire Prevention Association
Sponsors
A key meeting was held in Penco between the mayors of Penco, Tomé, and Florida, along with the Chilean Wood Corporation (CORMA), which led to the creation of the Gran Concepción Forest Fire Prevention Association—a new coordination entity aimed at addressing the high risk of fire spread in the province.
During the meeting, CORMA presented an updated national risk map and a catastrophic simulation showing how a large-scale fire could quickly spread among the three municipalities due to territorial interconnectedness and the accumulation of fine dead biomass in urban-forest interface areas.
Critical Restrictions and Accumulated Risk
The mayors warned that restrictions imposed since 2019 by the Atmospheric Prevention and Decontamination Plans (PPDA) in ten municipalities of Biobío prevent controlled burns to eliminate dry plant material. This situation has led to the accumulation of thousands of tons of highly hazardous fuel, increasing the vulnerability of these areas to massive fires.
“Winter is already passing, and we know temperatures will rise. That’s why we made the decision to organize and create this preventive association—because we must anticipate and not wait for the catastrophe,” stated Rodrigo Vera, Mayor of Penco.
A Joint Letter to the Government
As a first step, the mayors of Penco, Tomé, and Florida agreed to send a joint letter to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Environment, requesting a reconsideration of the ban on technical burns in interface zones. The official letter will be addressed to Undersecretary of the Interior Víctor Ramos Muñoz, with a copy to the regional presidential delegate of Biobío, from whom they will also request territorial support.
Ítalo Cáceres, Mayor of Tomé, made a direct appeal to the central government: “We need support to prevent, not just react after the catastrophe. We want more mayors to join this network to protect our communities.”
For his part, Rodrigo Montero, Mayor of Florida, recalled that since 2017, approximately 35,000 hectares have been consumed by fires, with nearly 15,000 hectares lost in 2025 alone—reflecting progress, but still insufficient.
International Risk and Call to Action
The President of CORMA’s Forest Protection Department, Ramón Figueroa, emphasized that international lessons confirm the risk: “Europe and the United States are already facing longer and more destructive fire seasons, even with advanced emergency systems. In Gran Concepción, we are seeing how environmental restrictions are increasing the risk, and we want to raise awareness before the summer season arrives.”
The newly created Gran Concepción Forest Fire Prevention Association will seek to incorporate more municipalities in the province and establish itself as a public-private coordination space, working in coordination with CONAF, Firefighters, SENAPRED, and sectoral ministries, to reduce vulnerability to fire and protect communities.
