Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Residents and emergency crews battle against the fires in the Bio-Bio region

More international help has been arriving in Chile to help the country fight the worst wildfire in its modern history.

Russia has sent a super-tanker aircraft capable of carrying tons of water to douse the fires.

The series of fast-spreading fires, mostly in Chile's central region, are being fanned by strong winds, high temperatures and a prolonged drought.

One town, Santa Olga, has been destroyed by the blaze.

Image copyright AFP Image caption In Santa Olga, 1,000 homes in the town were razed to the ground

Image copyright AFP Image caption The charred remains of one person were found in the town - 6,000 residents fled unharmed

Image copyright AFP Image caption People took their animals with them as the fire spread

Image copyright AFP Image caption Many people were left homeless and in despair

Image copyright AFP Image caption Multiple blazes have ravaged 238,000 hectares (588,000 acres) across Chile - the National Forestry Corporation says they are still growing

Image copyright AFP Image caption Firefighters have been mourning the deaths of five of their colleagues who died helping people move out of danger</s>Chile is battling the worst wildfire in its history, and is now pleading for international assistance after months of trying to bring deadly fires under control.

Drought, strong winds, and high temperatures have stoked a series of fires in Central Chile since November (environmentalists blame Chile’s unusually dry weather on climate change). But things went from bad to worse when smaller brush fires converged into a massive wildfire that destroyed the town of Santa Olga Thursday evening, killing 10 people and reducing over 1,000 buildings to smoldering rubble.

Central Chile is no stranger to natural disasters; it regularly endures floods and earthquakes. But this this different. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet called the fires “the greatest forest disaster” in the country’s history. In the past week, officials estimate the fire engulfed 680,000 acres of land — almost the size of Yosemite National Park in the United States — and it shows no signs of stopping.

“What we have experienced here is literally like Dante’s Inferno,” Carlos Valenzuela, mayor of Constitución, a town near Santa Olga, told the Guardian. “I believe that this surpasses any tragedy that we have had before,” he added.

The government deployed some 5,000 firefighters to battle the flames, who were aided by countless locals desperate to save their homes and livestock. But even all that wasn’t enough to save Santa Olga. And as the fire spreads, it’s stretched the country’s limited resources dangerously thin. So Chile called for backup from the rest of the world.

Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz said Canada and the United States offered to help, as did Russia. Russia already sent a super-tanker aircraft capable of dumping tons of water on fire to Chile to combat the flames. And on Thursday, Bachelet announced her country was accepting more Russian tanker planes and helicopters.

If that’s not enough, the family behind Wal-Mart is now chipping in. The Chilean wife of a Walton heir hired a massive Boeing super tanker to help douse the fires. It’s already been deployed to the El Maule region of Chile.

Still, government officials warn the worst may still be to come. Chile’s interior ministry said the country could expect hotter temperatures and stronger winds in the coming days, which would fan the flames even further.</s>At least ten people have died in blazes since November in what is being described as the worst wildfire in Chile, AP reported on Thursday. Around 98,482 acres (40,000 hectares) of forestry land has been in the fires, affecting companies that deal in wood, paper and pulp – Chile’s second-largest export industry after copper.

A massive firefighting operation involving assistance from Mexico, Colombia, France, Russia and the United States is underway, Reuters reported. On January 20, President Michelle Bachelet had declared a state of emergency in the country and called for international help, while describing the blaze as “the greatest forest disaster”in Chile’s history.

“It is still not possible to determine the economic damage caused by these fires, as they have destroyed woods in different stages of growth and forestry management, and there has also been loss of infrastructure and installations,” industry group CORMA said. The region’s famed vineyards have also been gutted in the fire.

Officials said the entire town of Santa Olga, which had more than 1,000 buildings, was razed to the ground, The Guardian reported. The United States deployed a Boeing 747-400 Super Tanker with a carrying capacity of 73,000 liters to help douse the flames, while Russia had sent an Ilyushin Il-76.

The region’s arid weather makes the country prone to wildfires. O’Higgins and Maule in Chile were affected the worst, while areas inhabited by indigenous people in Bio Bio and Araucania were also ravaged, according to AP. Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said experts have predicted more fires because of strong winds and rise in temperatures.</s>Flames from one of Chile's worst wildfires completely consumed the town of Santa Olga as the death toll from the blazes since November rose to 10, officials said Thursday.

The flames engulfed the post office, a kindergarten, and about 1,000 homes in the town, located 220 miles (360 kilometers) south of the Chilean capital. The body of one person was found under the charred remains of the town, which another 6,000 residents fled unharmed. Officials have not identified the person who died.

"This is an extremely serious situation — of horror, a nightmare without an end," said Carlos Valenzuela, the mayor of the neighboring coastal city of Constitucion. "Everything burned."

Authorities found another body burned inside a house destroyed in the flames about 85 miles (140 kilometers) south of Santa Olga in the coastal city of Concepcion, said Andrea Munoz, the governor of Concepcion province. Officials later reported that a firefighter also died after a water truck rolled over.

Dozens of teary-eyed firefighters took a moment from battling the blazes to pay homage to one of their colleagues who died in the flames late Wednesday while he evacuated a family to safety. Two police officers also died Wednesday.

The series of fast-spreading blazes have destroyed about 385,000 acres (160,000 hectares) of forest.

The fires have been raging in central and southern Chile, fanned by strong winds, hot temperatures and a prolonged drought. Emergency services have battled the flames non-stop for days with thousands of firefighters on the ground and helicopters and small airplanes in the air.

Residents of some communities have been battling the fires themselves, without any protective gear and often using just branches or bottles of water in a frantic effort to save their homes, pasture and livestock. But those efforts are often undone as winds or smoldering ash spread the fires anew.

The ferocity of the flames prompted President Michelle Bachelet's to declare a state of emergency, deploy troops and ask for international help, calling it "the greatest forest disaster" in Chile's history.

A Boeing 747-400 "Super Tanker" arrived in Chile from the United States Wednesday to help fight the blazes. The world's largest fire-fighting aircraft can dump nearly 20,000 gallons (73,000 liters) of fire retardant or water.

Bachelet said in her Twitter account Thursday that Chile also had accepted a supertanker plane from the Russian government.

The central regions of O'Higgins and Chile's top wine-making region of Maule are among those hit worst. But fires are also raging in the south-central Bio Bio and Araucania regions, known for its timber industry and where most of Chile's Mapuche Indigenous people live.

Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy more fires are expected with forecasts of hotter temperatures, strong winds and low humidity in the coming days.</s>Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said Russia has sent an Ilyushin Il-76 strategic airlifter to conduct firefighting operations amid the South American country's worst fires in history. "We accept generous Russian government support [of the] Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft to fight fires," Bachelet said in a statement, adding her administration has also requested helicopter help.

Start the conversation, or Read more at UPI.</s>One body found in smouldering ruins of Santa Olga, the worst-hit of several smaller communities, as hot, dry weather fuels fiercest fires in recent historyAn entire town has been consumed by flames in Chile as unusually hot, dry weather undermined efforts to combat the worst forest fires in the country's recent history., the biggest of several communities to be reduced to ashes in the Maule region.One body was later recovered from the ruins. Two people are missing, but most of the residents were evacuated unharmed. Few will have a home to return to.Drone images showed entire neighbourhoods reduced to ashes. The roads are still neatly symmetrical, but the buildings in block after block lie in smouldering ruins under a hazy sky.Even for a region that is frequently hit by earthquakes and floods, the extent of the destruction was shocking.said the Carlos Valenzuela, the mayor of the encompassing municipality Constitución. "We were recovering after the last earthquake, but this tragedy has messed up everything."He said the smaller communities of Putú and Cabezalillo had also been damaged.I believe that this surpasses any tragedy that we have had before, this is much worse than when it was the earthquake or the floods. It is a thing that does not stop, is advancing," said Francisco Henríquez, director of Orca Chile, a civil organisation deployed in the area.Residents expressed dismay and fury as they returned to charred livestock, collapsed buildings and blackened farm fields. Some felt abandoned by the authorities."When the politicians need our votes they come here, they put their face and expect us to vote for them. Now they're not here," Miguel Reyes, a resident of Santa Olga, told BioBioChileBut even with 5,000 firefighters, government resources have been overstretched.and spread rapidly across vegetation that has been dried by unseasonably high temperatures. Many regions have suffered heatwaves. Santiago registered a record 37C on Wednesday.according to local media.The economic impact is still to be calculated. According to the National Forestry Corporation,and damaging farms, cattle ranches and vineyards.President Michelle Bachelet has declared a state of emergency and called for international help in dealing with fire on a scale "never seen in the history of Chile". Dozens of helicopters, light aircraft and a Boeing 747 "supertanker" have dumped water and flame retardants from the skies, but at least 30 fires continue to rage.There have been successes. Penco, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, in the region of Bío Bío, was saved by firebreaks that kept the advancing flames at bay. But the threat continues.The interior minister, Mahmud Aleuy, warned more fires might break out because weather forecasters predict several more days of high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.The government has pledged to investigate the cause of the fires and the effectiveness of the official response.As well as climate change, tourist negligence and poor park management, the country's timber and wood pulp industry may come under the spotlight.Biologists say plantations of non-indigenous forests, such as eucalyptus and pine, help to spread the fires more quickly."About 42% of the forest fires are in plantation forests, which are like matchboxes," said Mary Kalin Arroyo of the University of Chile. "They spread fire to native forests."</s>An entire town has been consumed by flames in Chile as unusually hot, dry weather undermined efforts to combat the worst forest fires in the country’s recent history. 



More than 1,000 buildings, including schools, nurseries, shops and a post office were destroyed in Santa Olga, the biggest of several communities to be reduced to ashes in the Maule region.

One body was later recovered from the ruins. Two people are missing, but most of the residents were evacuated unharmed. Few will have a home to return to. 



Drone images showed entire neighbourhoods reduced to ashes. The roads are still neatly symmetrical, but the buildings in block after block lie in smouldering ruins under a hazy sky.

Even for a region that is frequently hit by earthquakes and floods, the extent of the destruction was shocking.

“Nobody can imagine what happened in Santa Olga. What we have experienced here is literally like Dante’s Inferno,” said the Carlos Valenzuela, the mayor of the encompassing municipality Constitución. “We were recovering after the last earthquake, but this tragedy has messed up everything.”



He said the smaller communities of Putú and Cabezalillo had also been damaged.

“The situation is awful. It’s the worst catastrophe we’ve had in a number of years. I believe that this surpasses any tragedy that we have had before, this is much worse than when it was the earthquake or the floods. It is a thing that does not stop, is advancing,” said Francisco Henríquez, director of Orca Chile, a civil organisation deployed in the area.

Residents expressed dismay and fury as they returned to charred livestock, collapsed buildings and blackened farm fields. Some felt abandoned by the authorities.

“When the politicians need our votes they come here, they put their face and expect us to vote for them. Now they’re not here,” Miguel Reyes, a resident of Santa Olga, told BioBioChile

But even with 5,000 firefighters, government resources have been overstretched.

More than 90 wildfires have broken out in the past few weeks and spread rapidly across vegetation that has been dried by unseasonably high temperatures. Many regions have suffered heatwaves. Santiago registered a record 37C on Wednesday.



At least four firefighters have been killed in the battle to control the blazes. Including police and civilians, the overall death toll is now seven, according to local media.

The economic impact is still to be calculated. According to the National Forestry Corporation, 238,000 hectares of forests in central and southern Chile have been burned, forcing the evacuation of at least 4,000 people and damaging farms, cattle ranches and vineyards.

President Michelle Bachelet has declared a state of emergency and called for international help in dealing with fire on a scale “never seen in the history of Chile”. Dozens of helicopters, light aircraft and a Boeing 747 “supertanker” have dumped water and flame retardants from the skies, but at least 30 fires continue to rage.

There have been successes. Penco, a town of 50,000 inhabitants, in the region of Bío Bío, was saved by firebreaks that kept the advancing flames at bay. But the threat continues.

The interior minister, Mahmud Aleuy, warned more fires might break out because weather forecasters predict several more days of high temperatures, strong winds and low humidity.

The government has pledged to investigate the cause of the fires and the effectiveness of the official response.

As well as climate change, tourist negligence and poor park management, the country’s timber and wood pulp industry may come under the spotlight.

Biologists say plantations of non-indigenous forests, such as eucalyptus and pine, help to spread the fires more quickly.

“About 42% of the forest fires are in plantation forests, which are like matchboxes,” said Mary Kalin Arroyo of the University of Chile. “They spread fire to native forests.”</s>"We have never seen anything on this scale, never in the history of Chile," President Michelle Bachelet, who has declared a state of emergency, said earlier this week.

"The truth is that the forces are doing everything humanly possible and will continue until they can contain and control the fires."

Many of those killed are firefighters battling more than 100 separate fires, about half of which are still uncontrolled, according to government reports.

Bachelet said she planned to meet with the intelligence heads of police and armed forces to discuss the investigation into the cause.

"Because there are multiple points of origin, we cannot dismiss the possibility that there might be an intentional component here," she said Thursday in Santiago. Forest fires consume parts of the community of Vichuquen in Chile's Maule Region. "We are strongly following this and have been investigating it for some days, and I want to know how far we've gotten." The blazes, which began nearly two weeks ago, have spread quickly amid historically high temperatures and an ongoing drought. Nearly 240,000 hectares (593,000 acres) -- about three times the size of New York City -- have burned. At least 10 people have died, many of them firefighters. France, Russia, the United States and Peru have sent international help to combat the fires following last week's declaration of a state of emergency in some of the worst-affected areas. Additionally, aid from Mexico and Colombia was expected to arrive this week. The US Embassy in Chile said this week that US Agency for International Development was donating $100,000 USD to the nongovernmental organization Caritas Chile for the purchase and delivery of firefighting equipment, such as chainsaws and weather monitoring tools. Additionally, the US Forest Service sent a four-member emergency response team of technical experts to work with local authorities. The town of Santa Olga was wiped out by the wildfires. The South America nation is vulnerable to earthquakes, forest fires, floods, and volcanic eruptions. In 2014, a wildfire swept through hundreds of homes in the Pacific coastal city of Valparaiso, leaving at least 12 dead, according to an official. At least 2,000 homes destroyed by the blaze and 8,000 people left without a place to live.</s>The worst forest fire in Chile's recent history has ravaged an entire town, destroying buildings, farms and livestock.

The fire that ripped through Santa Olga — the largest of several affected communities in Central Chile's Maule region — destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, the Guardian reports. Aerial footage showed block after block reduced to smoldering rubble.

Most of Santa Olga's residents were safely evacuated, but rescuers recovered one body from the ruins and two people have been reported missing.

“What we have experienced here is literally like Dante’s Inferno,” Carlos Valenzuela, the mayor of the nearby city of Constitución, told the Guardian. “We were recovering after the last earthquake, but this tragedy has messed up everything,” Valenzuela added.

At least seven people, including four firefighters, have died in more than 90 forest fires that have blazed across central and southern Chile in recent weeks, according to local media. Some 238,000 hectares of forest has been burnt across the country, the National Forest Corporation said, leading to the evacuation of at least 4,000 people.

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet has declared a state of emergency and called for international help to stymie the wildfires. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. has sent a Boeing 747-400 "Super Tanker" help fight the fires.

With forecasts of more strong winds and hot temperatures, the country's Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said more fires are expected.</s>Flames from one of Chile's worst wildfires completely consumed the town of Santa Olga. (AFP)
A wildfire destroys almost the entire town of Santa Olga in Chile's central Maule Region as a Russian firefighting Ilyushin Il-76 arrives to help fight the worst wildfire in Chile's modern history.