Chilean wildfire survivors sift through debris as they begin the process of rebuilding

(19 Jan 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Punta de Parra, Chile - 19 January 2026
1. Aerial of charred remains of homes ++MUTE++
2. Aerial of residents inspecting damage ++MUTE++
3. Aerial of residents clearing debris ++MUTE++
4. Person walking through the charred remains of a building
5. Residents removed a burnt refrigerator
6. Chilean flag that reads (Spanish) "Punta de Parra rises"
7. Ricardo Beroiza clearing debris next to a Chilean flag
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ricardo Beroiza, Chilean who lost his home to the wildfire:
"Here lived my niece, here my sister. There were three homes on this site. Unfortunately, with the fire, everything was lost, everything, everything, we were left with nothing. And today, as a family, we are starting the whole process, as I said, of clearing debris and everything, and rebuilding."
9. Residents clearing debris from destroyed homes
10. Man in a mask clearing debris
11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ricardo Beroiza, Chilean who lost his home to the wildfire:
"But my dad tells me it was something intense. It felt like a noise, like a wave of fire came in, and besides that, the wind was so strong that it would take over a house, two houses, and in a moment, everything was surrounded. There was fire everywhere, and they only managed to escape with just the clothes they were wearing."
12. Aerial weide of devastation ++MUTE++
13. Aerial of residents inspecting the charred remains of buildings ++MUTE++
STORYLINE:
Survivors from a devastating wildfire in Pennco, Chile, on Monday began sifting through the debris of their burnt house, as fires swept through thousands of acres in the center and south of the country.

Weekend wildfires have killed at least 19 people and left around 1,500 homeless.

Five large wildfires were still active Monday in the South American nation, with temperatures higher than usual due to a summer heat wave, said the National Service for the Prevention of Disasters.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the central Biobio and neighboring Ñuble regions on Sunday. The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein wildfires.

Boric said on his X account on Monday morning that weather conditions are adverse, which means some of the fires could reignite.

Wildfires are common in Chile during the summer due to high temperatures and dry weather. The current outbreak of fires in central and southern Chile is one of the deadliest in recent years.

In 2024, massive fires ripping across Chile’s central coastline killed at least 130 people, becoming the nation’s deadliest natural disaster since a devastating 2010 earthquake.

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