LIRQUÉN, Chile (AP) — Some are frightened, others are dehydrated, most are burned. In order to provide aid to the furry friends and other anim…
A police officer carries a dog named Negra to a mobile veterinary clinic in area damaged by wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
Veterinarian Angiella Scalpello tends to a cat named Lunar in a mobile veterinary clinic run by the Chilean Investigative Police in an area damaged by wildfires, in Lirquen, Chile, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
Firefighters in Chile are battling forest fires that started on Sunday, killing at least 19 people and leaving around 1,500 homeless. Five large wildfires remain active Monday in the center and south of the country. Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the central Biobio and Ñuble regions on Sunday. This allows greater coordination with the military to control the fires. Wildfires are common in Chile during the summer due to high temperatures and dry weather. This outbreak is one of the deadliest in recent years.
CORRECTS NAME TO VICTOR SILVA AND REMOVES ANDRES GARRIDO - Resident Victor Silva pushes a wheelbarrow with gas cylinders burned when wildfires destroyed homes in Tome, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
Residential areas burned by wildfires stretch across Tome, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
A Chilean flag is covered by the Spanish message: "Punta Arenas rises" at a home destroyed by wildfires in Tome, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
Mirtza Aguilera, right, and her daughter embrace in front of their home burned by wildfires in Tome, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
A woman holds a cat rescued after wildfires swept through homes near Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)
PENCO, Chile (AP) — Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 15 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of …