Forest Fire (40563 ha) in Chile 02 Feb 2023

Event summary

Forest fire can have a high humanitarian impact based on the burned area and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID WF 1012119
Glide number: WF-2023-000016-CHL
Countries: Chile
Start Date - Last detection*: 02 Feb 2023 - 15 Feb 2023
Duration (days): 13
People affected: 3946 in the burned area
Burned area: 40563 ha
More Info: Global Wildfire Information System

*(Last detection of the thermal anomaly of the fire)

GDACS Score

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Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Forest fire in Chile - EC/ECHO daily mapWed, 15 Feb 2023 18:06

A new EC/ECHO daily map is now available
Chile - Wildfires, update (ECHO 16 Feb 2023)Thu, 16 Feb 2023 10:58

  • Wildfires continue to affect central Chile, particularly the regions of Bío Bío, Ñuble, Maule, La Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Los Lagos.
  • According to the Chilean National Office of Emergency (SINAPRED), the number of fatalities has increased to 25 people, 3,034 individuals sustained injuries. As of 15 February, there are 324 people in public shelters and more than 7,040 persons have been affected by wildfires, which destroyed 1,504 houses and damaged more than 900.
  • The number of burned areas since January 2023 across Chile has reached more than 432,170 ha.
  • Following Chile’s request for assistance from the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) so far three countries offered assistance and over 250 emergency responders had been deployed to Chile through the UCPM, alongside with a Liaison Officer from the EU's Emergency Response Coordination Centre's and an EU Civil Protection Team.
  • On 16-18 February, the fire danger forecast is mostly extreme over central Chile, specifically from Region Metropolitana to Rios, according to the JRC Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS).
Forest fire in Chile - JRC emergency reportSun, 05 Feb 2023 22:08

A new JRC Emergency report is now available
Chile - Wildfires, update (ECHO 03 Mar 2023)Fri, 03 Mar 2023 11:12

  • Active fires are still burning across the Regions of Bíobío, Ñuble, Maule, La Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Magallanes (central Chile). As of 1 March, more than 442,000 ha of land has been affected by fires according to the latest report of SENAPRED.
  • The same source records 26 fatalities (17 in Bíobío, eight in La Araucanía and one in Ñuble), 233 sheltered people, more than 7,500 affected and almost 4,000 damaged or destroyed houses across the Regions of Santiago, O’Higgins, Maule, Ñuble, Biobío, La Araucanía, Los Ríos and Los Lagos.
  • Following Chile's request for assistance from the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) three countries offered assistance and over 260 emergency responders were deployed to the most affected areas through the UCPM, alongside with a Liaison Officer and an EU Civil Protection Team. All teams completed their mission and returned or on their way back to Europe.
  • The Copernicus Emergency Management System was activated in rapid mapping mode () on 6 February and 40 maps have been produced so far.
  • On 3-4 March the fire danger forecast is from high to extreme over central and northern Chile.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2025. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

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For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: (2), EC-JRC (28), DesInventar (1), WMO (1), INFORM (2), JRC (1),