[NASA] Fires Erupt in South-Central Chile

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3. Fires Erupt in South-Central…

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January 18, 2026

Wildland fires broke out amid hot and dry conditions in south-central Chile in mid-January 2026, prompting evacuations and causing extensive damage to infrastructure. As of January 20, the spate of deadly fires had burned more than 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) in the country’s Biobío and Ñuble regions, according to Chile’s

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.

The

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 (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s 

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 satellite captured this image of smoke billowing from multiple fires on January 18. Dozens of active fires in the area prompted the evacuation of 50,000 people and destroyed more than 300 homes, according to a

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from Chile’s

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. Aerial and ground-based

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showed neighborhoods in Concepción charred in the aftermath.

Gusty winds, along with

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that

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38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) in places, fanned the flames and hampered firefighting efforts, according to

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. Chile’s president

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a state of catastrophe in the Biobío and Ñuble regions, allowing more resources to go toward battling the blazes and assisting affected communities.

Other parts of South America also faced hot and

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during the 2025–2026 summer, likely priming vegetation to burn. About 650 kilometers (400 miles) south of Concepción, firefighters in

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in and around Los Alerces National Park, home to rare stands of long-lived cypress trees.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA 

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 and 

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. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

References & Resources

• CONAF (2026, January 20)
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  . Accessed January 20, 2026.
• The Guardian (2026, January 18)
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  . Accessed January 20, 2026.
• NASA (2026) 
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  . Accessed January 20, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2026, January 12)
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  . Accessed January 20, 2026.
• The New York Times (2026, January 18)
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  . Accessed January 20, 2026.
• ReliefWeb (2026, January 20)
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  . Accessed January 20, 2026.

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January 18, 2026

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