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. "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. 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". 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.
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.