The electrical storms registered in the early hours of Sunday in various parts of the Ñuble foothills were the cause of the fire currently burning in the Ñuble National Reserve. This is according to information from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) of Ñuble, as the blaze was spotted through heat detection cameras in a very hard-to-access area far from the tourist zone.
Along with this, and the report of lightning strikes during a dry electrical storm (without rain), it was established that the cause was precisely a lightning strike. As the hours passed and temperatures increased, the fire began to spread slowly until reaching the magnitude it has today.
According to the latest report, 32.4 hectares have been affected by the blaze, which, due to topographic conditions and difficult access, has not yet been brought under control.
Conaf mentioned they continue to work with four ground crews, one helitransported crew, four technicians, a command post, and four aircraft.
"It should be remembered that this fire is located in a hard-to-access sector, with very steep topography, so the firefighting is being conducted primarily from the air. The crews are transported to the area by aircraft, as there is no ground access to the fire site," recalled the acting director of Conaf Ñuble, Norma Pérez.
Furthermore, it was indicated that the work is focused on constructing containment lines around much of the fire's perimeter, something that has been completed for just over 50%.
This was expressed by Manuel Garrido, head of the Department of Forest Fire Protection at Conaf Ñuble, who said that the work of recent days has concentrated "on consolidating those containment lines, along with advancing the tasks that remained pending."
"It is very steep and difficult terrain, where the crews take about two hours to reach the work site, so it is highly exhausting work," explained Garrido.
The official added that on Monday "the crews were able to be withdrawn after 4:00 PM and are now working again in the sector, continuing the tasks started during the previous shift."
Season Summary
Ñuble continues to show an increase in forest fires during the current season. To date, 233 fires have occurred, a 31% increase compared to the previous season. However, despite the rise in the occurrence of fires, the total affected area reaches 719.3 hectares, a figure that shows a 61% decrease compared to the 2024-2025 season.
According to the official comparison prepared by Conaf, Ñuble also shows a significant reduction in relation to the average of the last five years, where the damaged area exceeded 1,300 hectares, implying a decrease of close to 45%.
Regarding the size of the fires, the report details that the vast majority correspond to small-scale outbreaks. Of the total fires registered in the region, 216 have been smaller than 5 hectares, equivalent to 92.7% of cases. Meanwhile, 14 fires fall in the range of 5 to 50 hectares, while only three fires have exceeded 50 hectares, with no fires larger than 1,000 hectares registered this season.
Source:La Discusión
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