Penco-Lirquén Megafire: Prosecutor's Office Investigates Potential Responsibility of Public Agencies

The Guarantee Court of Concepción resolved to extend the investigation period for the megafire recorded in the Biobío Region on January 17 of this year by six more months, a measure requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the plaintiffs in the case, arguing that important procedures are still pending.

During the hearing in which the extension of the investigations was resolved, held on August 4 of this year, Jorge Lorca, the prosecutor in charge of the investigation, stated that the request to extend the period is due to the fact that it is a highly complex case and that various lawsuits have been filed.

However, a relevant reason provided by the prosecutor is the need to carry out procedures that are key to determining the potential responsibility of state agents in the megafire, although without specifying which entities are involved.

According to the hearing record to which Diario Concepción had access, the prosecutor stated that "this case is highly complex. A series of lawsuits have been filed. There is also a pending re-formalization hearing for the month of October. There are also a series of pending procedures to determine the potential responsibility of other agents, including state agents."

Regarding other actions that have not yet been carried out, it was also stated at the hearing that reports from the Investigative Police (PDI) and technical reports from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) on the megafire remain pending. This was stated by one of the plaintiffs, Forestal Arauco.

There is only one accused person

Currently, the case has Claudio Luna as the sole accused person, to whom the Public Prosecutor's Office communicated charges for the consummated crime of forest fire, plus 20 counts of negligent homicide, 14 counts of negligent serious and less serious injuries, and damages.

At the same hearing, it was also decided to modify the precautionary measure of the accused, who went from nighttime house arrest to monthly signing at the First Police Station of Carabineros in Linares.

It is worth remembering that, during the formalization hearing in January 2026, days after the incident, the Prosecutor's Office reported that around 3:10 PM on January 17, 2026, Luna used a stove adapted as an artisanal kitchen in the cabin he occupied as a caretaker of the Don Pablo estate, located in the El Pino sector of Concepción, at kilometer 17 of Route O-680.

Said kitchen did not have a "spark arrester" device or "cap" on the external flue, so when used by the accused, it caused the abundant surrounding vegetation to catch fire. The incident spread rapidly to a forest covering the slope of a nearby hill, whose incline and the prevailing wind favored the generation of embers that carried the flames in a northeast direction, until reaching the Trinitarias estate of Forestal Arauco, about 2.25 kilometers from the point of origin.

Subsequently, they advanced uncontrollably in a northward direction until reaching the communes of Penco and Tomé.

Thus, according to what was stated by the prosecutor at the formalization of charges, a megafire would have been generated that caused 20 deaths and left 14 injured with serious and less serious wounds; also affecting a total of 9,000 homes at the regional level, 22,772 hectares of forest plantations, native forest, scrubland, grasslands, buildings, vehicles, and animals.

Source:Diario Concepción