Forest fires: the hard blow to small and medium-sized producers

By Camilo Cornejo Orellana, agronomist engineer and academic of Commercial Engineering at Universidad Andrés Bello

Climate change is here to stay. Rising temperatures, water scarcity, and human factors have created a "perfect storm" that each summer increases the risk of forest fires in Chile. According to Conaf statistics, comparing the seasons between 2005 and 2013/2014 with the period 2014/2015 to 2024, the average occurrence of fires increased by 21%, while the affected area grew by 194%.

Larger-scale fires have also become more frequent. Those exceeding 200 hectares went from representing a 96% increase in the previous period to a 260% increase today, highlighting the magnitude of the problem and its impact on both the public and private sectors.

Although prevention, disaster management, and emergency response systems have been strengthened in recent years, this has not managed to reduce the social, environmental, and economic impact of these catastrophes. A clear example was the megafire of 2017, which left nearly 6,000 victims and consumed 467,000 hectares of forest, with an estimated socio-environmental cost of US$26.5 million.

Added to this are human tragedies that have marked the country. The Viña del Mar fire in February 2024 left 138 people dead, while in January 2026, fires between Ñuble and Biobío caused 21 fatalities and affected nearly 54,000 hectares. These figures reflect a growing risk that not only impacts the economy but also the environment and community safety.

The situation is especially complex for small and medium-sized forest producers, who have suffered significant losses. In the fires of 2017 and 2023, this group was affected across more than 100,000 hectares, also facing delayed support and mostly reactive public policies. In many cases, benefits did not prioritize the forestry sector, which has eroded producers' trust in the face of these emergencies.

In Chile, there is a support tool: the state subsidy for forest insurance, which covers between 40% and 69% of the premium cost, plus a fixed contribution of 1 UF per policy, with a cap of 80 UF per producer and season. This mechanism aims to reduce economic losses in the event of a fire.

However, access is not straightforward. Many small and medium-sized producers do not meet the requirements or lack the financial capacity to take out these insurances. Added to this, due to the increase in fires, premiums have risen by up to 200%, and some insurers have tightened conditions or even refused to insure plantations.

Faced with this scenario, several forest producers are considering abandoning the activity after a fire, due to the high risk and rising costs of continuing production. Therefore, the need arises for more direct and targeted public policies to support the recovery and protection of forestry SMEs.

Otherwise, they warn, the exit of producers from the sector could intensify, with negative consequences for the regional economy, rural employment, and the incomes of thousands of families.

The column in theAcoforag Magazine