Heartbreaking images of cats and dogs being treated for burns after getting caught up Chile ’ s raging wildfires that have destroyed the lives of thousands of familiesVolunteer veterinarians care for pets and street animals injured in the terrible forest fires in central ChileMore than 2 , 500 homes are destroyed , 11 , 000 people evacuated and at least 15 people have been found deadThe fires erupted on Saturday in a hilltop residential area of Valparaiso , 70 miles northwest of capital Santiago 20 helicopters and planes have been mobilized to drop water on hotspots , but officials say work is far from overSchools were closed today in the city , since some were damaged and others were overflowing with evacuees By Tara Brady and Sara Malm Published : 07 : 57 GMT , 15 April 2014 | Updated : 07 : 57 GMT , 15 April 2014 Animal victims of the wildfires that has ravaged the coastal city of Valparaiso in central Chile which has killed at least 15 people and left 11 , 000 homeless , are being treated for their injuries at a local vet clinic . Some of the animals are strays , but many were accompanied by their distraught owners who had returned to their neighbourhoods after the still - raging fires destroyed more than 2 , 500 homes in the city . Volunteer veterinarians are now trying to treat as many animals as possible , as the population of Valparaiso ' s slums return to their streets after days of fires , only to discover their houses in ruins . Victim : A cat gets treated for burns by volunteer veterinarians , who managed to rescue animals from the uncontrolled wildfire still affecting the poorer urban areas of the city of Valparaiso , Chile Pain of the innocent : A man sits next to his injured dog as it is treated by a volunteer vet following the blaze which has killed at least 15 people in Valparaiso Casualty : A veterinary nurse tends to young dogs that suffered burns in the fire that has seen 11 , 000 people evacuated , at a temporary animal hospital in the Chilean city The fires , so hot they created their own fierce winds , consumed a entire neighborhoods on the Valparisian hills . In other districts , some houses stood unscathed but remained in danger from glowing embers carried by the shifting winds . ' We are looking at the largest air operation ever assembled against a fire like this , ' Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said . She said the blazes had grown to ' dimensions never before seen . ' Chile ' s forestry agency predicted it would take three weeks to completely stamp out the fires , which began Saturday in a forested ravine and quickly spread into ramshackle housing on one of Valparaiso ' s 42 hills . Hot dry winds blowing out to sea whipped embers onto other neighborhoods on six densely populated hills where people live in poorly constructed homes without municipal water or sewer connections , fire hydrants or streets wide enough for emergency vehicles . Volunteers , like these women , are caring for the injured pets and street animals which have been found in areas ravaged by the forest fire over the weekend Human loss : A resident , whose house was damaged by the fire , talks on a phone in a shelter for victims of the blaze in Valparaiso Witnessing destruction : Two residents of the hillside neighbourhoods of Valparaiso whose home was destroyed by the devastating blaze feed a pig amid the destruction in their street Returning home : Volunteers help in clearance work at a hill in Valparaiso , following the fire , which began on 12 April on a forestry road , near Valparaiso ' s La Polvora road , but quickly expanded to several populated neighboring hills On Monday , there was no end in sight . Helicopters were flying without pause , dumping water on hotspots . Aid was flowing in from all over Chile to Valparaiso , where evacuees crowded into eight shelters . Hundreds of young volunteers climbed hills carrying bottles of water and shovels to help victims search the ruins of their homes . ' We ' re going to rebuild right here . Where else would we go ? ' said Carolina Ovando , 22 , who lost the humble home she kept with three small children . Schools were closed , some of them damaged by fires and others jammed with evacuees . Navy officer Julio Leiva said Monday that the death toll rose to 15 . Most of the bodies were too badly burned to identify without DNA tests , the national forensics service said . More than 500 people were treated at hospitals , mostly for smoke inhalation . Bachelet coordinated the emergency response with her Cabinet , cancelling a trip to Argentina and Uruguay . She asked Chile ' s neighbors for backup in case of other fires , freeing Chilean planes and helicopters to join the fleet in Valparaiso . Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman promised to collaborate with rescue teams and water - dumping planes . From the Vatican , Pope Francis sent a message sharing his prayers . Infernos : The forest fire engulfs houses in flames on the hills of Valparaiso , Chile on Monday morning What has been left behind : View of Valparaiso on Monday morning after sunrise as an army of firefighters b continued to battle the flames in the city Flattened lands : An aerial view of the aftermath of a fire at Mariposas hill , Valparaiso , show the destruction left behind Destroyed houses are seen after a fire burned several neighbourhoods in the hills in Valparaiso city , northwest of Santiago Residents survey damage after a fire raged in the hills in Valparaiso city , northwest of Santiago . At least 15 people were killed and 2 , 000 houses destroyed over the weekend by a fire that devastated parts of the Chilean port city of Valparaiso Aerial view of the aftermath of a fire at Mariposas hill , Valparaiso , Chile . Fires they thought were contained 24 hours after they started on Saturday kicked up again with Sunday afternoon ' s winds Emergency responders struggled today with outbreaks from a deadly blaze that tore through parts of an historic Chilean port city Destroyed : A man reacts as he sees that his house was devastated by a huge fire in Valparaiso , Chile Bachelet put the entire city under military rule , and 5 , 000 firefighters , police , forest rangers , soldiers , sailors and civil defense workers joined the response . Cars were banned from streets leading up eight of the Valparaiso ' s hills so emergency vehicles could get through . Valparaiso is an oceanside city of 250 , 000 people surrounded by hills that form a natural amphitheater . The compact downtown includes Chile ' s congress and its second - largest port , and the city owes its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site to the colorful homes built on slopes so steep that many people commute using stairs and cable cars . But what ' s beautiful on postcards can be dangerous for those who live there : Many people have built on land not fit for housing and the poor neighborhoods have no municipal water or sewer connections , fire hydrants or streets wide enough for emergency vehicles . ' We are too vulnerable as a city . We have been the builders and architects of our own danger , ' Valparaiso Mayor Jorge Castro said Sunday in an interview with Chile ' s 24 H channel . Picturesque : Valparaiso is a picturesque oceanside city of 250 , 000 people surrounded by hills that form a natural amphitheater Dense housing : With no municipal water or fire hydrants to use , routes to the blazes blocked by narrow streets jammed with abandoned vehicles and countless embers being stoked , fire crews could do little but watch some neighborhoods burnhttp : / / www . dailymail . co . uk / news / article - 2604922 / Heartbreaking - images - cats - dogs - treated - burns - getting - caught - Chiles - raging - wildfires - destroyed - lives - thousands - families . html # ixzz 2 yx 0 bBM 9 S