A forest fire played havoc in Portezuelo, Chile on Sunday claiming close to a dozen lives. Raging flames from the wildfires that continued from the mountains until the Pacific coast damaged forests, livestock and entire towns.
However, ongoing strong winds are fueling the flames of furious wildfires. This has led to an evacuation of more than 800 families in the coastal town of Dichato.
Firefighters and locals have though fought with full zeal against the quickly spreading blazes on Tuesday. Moreover, thousands of gallons of water has been poured by a Russian supertanker plane and a Brazilian Hercules over the 290 miles stretch across the southwest of the Chilean capital.
The United States has also lent a helping hand in fighting against the furious flames by offering a Boeing 747-400 to assist in the calamity.
As per the authorities, close to 118 fires still remain active but out of these 53 are contained. As an estimate, close to 3,000 people have been affected. Though out of the thousands people evacuated, some have even returned to their homes.
In all, more than 15,000 firefighters from more than a dozen of countries have been battling the massive fire outrage. However, officials were predicting light rains along with lower temperatures that would provide some relief.
Image Credit: The Atlantic