© NASA
The red dots represent heat at fires in Chile and Argentina detected by a satellite January 21, 2017.
The red dots represent heat at fires in Chile and Argentina detected by a satellite January 21, 2017.
Fire fighters are battling the worst forest fires for over 10 years in central Chile as President Michelle Bachelet declares the state a "catastrophe".
Over 175,000 square miles were the site of a raging inferno in the area south of Santiago, the country's capital city. More than 200 people were evacuated as hundreds of firefighters, military and forestry workers were brought into the region to battle the blaze.
Josephina Lopez, from to the country's National Emergency Office (ONEMI), said no fatalities were reported but huge economic losses were expected.
The disaster was called "a sort of earthquake" for the area, agriculture minister Carlos Furche said on Chile's national radio, with a farming emergency declared. Crops and vineyards have been destroyed.
Comment: In neighbouring Argentina a state of disaster and an agricultural emergency were declared in the province of La Pampa, on Sunday. Wildfires have ravaged more than one million hectares across several locations, according to local authorities.
National Fire Management Plan director Guillermo Barisone said that the wildfire started during a dry storm, which saw around 500 lightning strikes in a predominately dry grass area.