During January, 45,000 hectares of forest have burned in southern Chile. Lirquén, a port and industrial town in the municipality of Penco in Chile's Biobío Region, has an estimated population of approximately 20,000 inhabitants. On January 17 and 18, it suffered a serious fire caused by the proximity of forest fires. Twenty people died and 4,300 houses and 720 apartments were destroyed.
Danilo Sanhueza, Commander of the Penco Fire Department, says that they fought the fire all night. At 1:00 a.m. he heard on the radio that his daughter Michele, 27 years old, also a firefighter, was asking for help because she had been trapped by the fire; he spoke to her father to say goodbye because she had no way out. He tried to cheer her up by telling her to remember her training for such extreme situations. The commander had no way to save his daughter, but she finally managed to escape from the fire in a vehicle.
The parish of Lirquén was totally destroyed by the fire, but the following Sunday the Archbishop of Concepción celebrated Mass outside the church for many faithful.
Caritas Chile quickly mobilized to help the people affected by these fires, not only in Lirquén but also in other towns in the Bio Bio and Ñuble Regions affected by the fires. It has focused on:
Humanitarian aidSupport to families with food, water, personal protection items, among other essential items and supplies.
2. Psychosocial, emotional and spiritual support oriented to provide accompaniment to families, which favors the resignification of human pain, activates community ties and the articulation with local support networks.
3. Provision of financial support for the affected people to recover their work tools and their capacity to generate income independently.
4. Home EquipmentProvision of basic household goods and essential goods so that families can return to their homes with dignity.
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