Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 18 dead and forcing thousands to flee

PENCO, Chile (AP) — Wildfires raging across central and southern Chile on Sunday left at least 18 people dead, scorched thousands of acres of forest and destroyed hundreds of homes, authorities said, as the South American country swelters under a heat wave.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in the country’s central Biobio region and the neighboring Ñuble region, around 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Santiago, the capital.

The emergency designation allows greater coordination with the military to rein in over two dozen active wildfires that have so far blazed through 8,500 hectares (21,000 acres), according to the national forestry agency.

In a press conference from the hard-hit city of Concepción in the Biobio region, Boric expressed his support and condolences to the victims and warned that the government's initial reports of 18 people killed and 300 houses destroyed were expected to rise as the extent of the losses came into focus.

He estimated the total number of affected homes in the Biobio region alone to be “certainly more than a thousand, just so far.” Already the fires ravaging the hillsides forced 50,000 people to evacuate.

“The first priority, as you know, in these emergencies is always to fight and extinguish the fire. But we cannot forget, at any time, that there are human tragedies here, families who are suffering,” he said. “These are difficult times.”

His address followed complaints from local authorities that for hours, destruction was everywhere and help was nowhere.

“Dear President Boric, from the bottom of my heart, I have been here for four hours, a community is burning and there is no (government) presence,” Rodrigo Vera, the mayor of the small coastal town of Penco in the Biobio region, said on a local radio station earlier Sunday. “How can a minister do nothing but call me to tell me that the military is going to arrive at some point?”

Firefighters struggled to extinguish the flames, with the heat and strong winds hampering their efforts. Temperatures topped 38 C (100 F) on Sunday, and the scorching weather was expected to persist through Monday.

“Weather conditions for coming hours are not good and indicate extreme temperatures,” said Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde.

Residents said the fires took them by surprise after midnight, trapping them in their homes.

“Many people didn’t evacuate. They stayed in their houses because they thought the fire would stop at the edge of the forest,” said John Guzmán, 55, surveying the scene in Penco, where smoke blanketed the sky in an orange haze. “It was completely out of control. No one expected it."

The fire engulfed most of Penco, burning cars, a school and a church. Thousands of people scrambled to take refuge in makeshift emergency shelters.

"We fled running, with the kids, in the dark,” said Juan Lagos, 52.

The government imposed a nighttime curfew in the area.Charred bodies were found across fields, homes, along roads and in cars.

“From what we can see, there are people who died ... and we knew them well," said Víctor Burboa, 54. "Everyone here knew them.”

Wildfires afflict central and southern Chile every summer, typically reaching a peak in February as temperatures surge and the country continues to reel from a yearslong drought. 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.

Neighboring Argentina has also struggled to contain wildfires consuming thousands of acres of forest in recent weeks as the country’s southern Patagonia area experiences a spell of hot, dry weather.

The sun rises over homes damaged by wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

Members of the Gonzalez family sit on a sidewalk after their home caught fire during wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

Firefighters battle a blaze at a house as wildfires burn in Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

Wildfires burn at sunrise near Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

A member of the Gonzalez family pets his dog after the family's home caught fire during wildfires in Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

ESCUINTLA, Guatemala (AP) — Suspected gang members in Guatemala’s capital Sunday killed seven police officers, authorities said, shortly after officials in the country’s southwest retook control of one of three maximum security prisons where inmates had rioted and taken hostages the day before.

The attacks on police in and around Guatemala City came after hundreds of anti-riot police stormed Renovación prison in Escuintla, about 47 miles (76 kilometers) southwest of the capital, to free nine guards who had been taken hostage there. Jailed gang leaders often order members outside the prison walls to carry out retaliatory attacks.

President Bernardo Arévalo said later on X that he had ordered police and soldiers into the streets. He was scheduled to address the nation Sunday evening on television.

Shots rang out as riot squads swept into the facility that houses gang leaders. About 15 minutes later, an Associated Press journalist saw the freed guards being escorted from the prison. They appeared to be unharmed. No injuries or deaths were immediately reported.

Later on Sunday, authorities retook control of a second prison on the north side of the capital. The National Civil Police said six guards were freed there. And then police announced they had raided the third prison, freeing 28 guards.

On Saturday, the Interior Ministry had said 46 guards were being held hostage. It was not immediately clear what explained the discrepancy with the 43 freed on Sunday.

Inmates took control of the three prisons the day before in a coordinated uprising to protest prison administrators’ decision to strip privileges from some incarcerated gang leaders.

As security forces tried to assert control, apparent retaliatory attacks took place outside the prison walls. Armed gangs killed seven national police officers in assaults across Guatemala City, Interior Minister Marco Antonio Villeda said. The clashes wounded another 10 officers, he added, and killed one gang member.

He said police so far have arrested seven gang members, confiscated two rifles and seized two vehicles, praising the police response as “the result of not negotiating with criminals.”

"The state will not kneel before these criminals,” he said, portraying the attacks on police officers and coordinated prison riots as a response to the government's intensifying crackdown on organized crime.

With tensions high, the Ministry of Education said it would suspend classes across the Central American country for Monday the 19th “to prioritize the safety” of students and teachers.

The police reinforced guards at several prisons and increased joint patrols with the military.

This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the national civil police director is Boteo, not Botero.

Evidence markers stand at the scene where police officers were killed in attacks reported after security forces retook control of a prison that houses gang leaders, in Villanueva, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Inmates stand atop a guard tower at the Renovation maximum-security prison before security forces entered the facility to free guards taken hostage in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Security forces enter the Renovation maximum-security prison to free guards taken hostage and retake control of the facility, which houses gang leaders, in Escuintla, Guatemala, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)