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CONAF to Have 197 New Firefighters for This Wildfire Season
Following the announcement by the Ministry of Finance in early September of a budget cut for the country's regions, dissatisfaction within the Regional Government and local parliamentarians became publicly evident, as Ñuble experienced a reduction of nearly 5% compared to the funds allocated in 2025.
Despite the concern raised across all public divisions in the region—prompting authorities to seek a reversal of the situation—the regional director of CONAF, Juan Salvador Ramírez, was clear in stating that "the budget for CONAF remains untouched. On the contrary, it has been increasing year after year."
In this context, the National Forestry Corporation in the Ñuble Region is concluding a training process for 197 new hires to tackle the high-risk period for wildfire emergencies in the 2025-2026 season, expected to begin in November.
Regarding this, Ramírez detailed that "these 197 positions include staff for the coordination center, which is already operational, as well as critical roles such as brigade chiefs, crew leaders, pump operators, and chainsaw operators, all of whom will be operational in the event of a fire starting September 15."
It was with this team that the first of the so-called "seasonal fires," recorded on September 1 in San Carlos, was quickly combated. Additionally, starting October 1, "the brigades will join in stages until December, to complete these nearly 200 positions we have in the Ñuble region," he added.
60% Less Area Affected
In terms of budget, although the exact amount of resources for this season has not yet been specified, the regional directorate assures they are at ease, as the current Government's policy has been to strengthen teams, to the extent of tripling the funds allocated for firefighting and associated preventive tasks.
"Under this Government, the budget increased from $56 billion to $156 billion nationwide, representing a historic figure for CONAF's tasks in prevention, mitigation, and firefighting. Ñuble has benefited from this in terms of ground brigades, aerial brigades, aircraft, and preventive education activities," specified the regional director.
All this has led to an 11% decrease in wildfires over the five-year period, alongside a nearly 60% reduction in affected areas during the same timeframe, he asserted.
"And on this note, it is important to highlight that our work has greatly improved, as response times have significantly shortened, evidenced by over 95% of these fires being contained before affecting five hectares."
During the 2024-2025 season, Ñuble recorded 445 declared wildfires, affecting 5,814 hectares, making it the fourth region with the largest damaged area nationally, behind La Araucanía (55,771 ha), Biobío (8,827 ha), and the Metropolitan Region (6,241 ha).
Coordination
One of CONAF's recent activities included participation in the second expanded session of the Ñuble Regional Committee for Disaster Risk Management (Cogrid), as well as in the provincial Cogrids of Punilla and Itata, aiming to plan collaborative efforts for the upcoming high-risk wildfire period in the region.
These meetings, held at Senapred Ñuble, as usual, also included the participation of the Presidential Provincial Delegation of Punilla and staff from the Quirihue Community Hospital.
The team from CONAF Ñuble's Department of Wildfire Protection presented a summary of the last fire season and provided guidelines to strengthen prevention and interinstitutional response in the coming months.
Source:La Discusión
