We might be enjoying an easy (for now) Spring Wildfire Season everyone is not so fortunate.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A big coastal wildfire was briefly
contained then flared to life again in hot, windy weather, although it posed no
threat to homes in the nearby Pacific ports of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar,
officials said late Saturday.
Chile's National Emergency Office
said the revival was mainly in unpopulated forest along two roads connecting
the two cities, and sections of both routes had to be closed.
Earlier Saturday, many of the
more than 7,000 people who had been evacuated after flames neared their
neighborhoods the previous night were allowed to return to their homes as the
blaze waned in those areas.
About 200 firefighters on the
ground and water-dumping helicopters and planes were battling the wildfire,
which started Friday afternoon at an illegal dump and was quickly spread by
strong winds. Officials declared a state of emergency.
The fire was blamed for the death
of a woman in her 60s who suffered a heart attack. Thirty-two people had been
injured, including 19 firefighters, the emergency office said. Five of the
firefighters were badly injured, but their lives were not in danger.
Electricity service for about
12,000 people was turned off as a precaution, officials said.
The fire comes nearly one year
after a wildfire tore through Valparaiso neighborhoods, leaping from one
hilltop to another. The blaze killed 15 people, injured more than 500 and
destroyed nearly 3,000 homes.
No houses were reported damaged
from the latest fire, which Chile's Emergency Office estimated had affected
about 740 acres (300 hectares) by early Saturday.
The government asked people to
avoid traveling to either of the coastal cities, both of which are popular
weekend destinations, especially during the Southern Hemisphere's summer
months.
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