Forest fires destroy 14,000 acres in Chile

Santiago, Dec 15 (IANS/EFE) Nearly 14,000 acres of vegetation have been destroyed by a series of forest fires in three separate regions of Chile, authorities said Tuesday.

Twelve of the blazes remain active, of which eight are in the coastal region of Valparaiso and the others in the neighbouring Greater Santiago area and the remote southern region of Magallanes.

The most complex wildfires are in Valparaiso, which have reduced more than 10,700 acres of plantations to ashes.

One of the hardest hit areas is the tourist town of Guanaqueros in the northern region of Coquimbo, where the fire, now extinguished, burned around 470 acres and damaged some 30 summer homes.

–IANS/EFE