Chile fights wildfires that killed 19 and forced massive evacuations

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Firefighters in Chile are battling forest fires Monday that have killed at least 19 people and forced 50,000 to evacuate their homes as they swept through thousands of acres in the center and south of the country.

Fifteen wildfires were still active Monday after fires started Sunday in the South American nation, according to the National Service for the Prevention of Disasters. The agency said the wildfires have destroyed homes, vehicles, infrastructure and forests.

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.

The president said that the wildfires have blazed through at least 30,000 hectares, an area that is roughly five times the size of Manhattan Island.

“Controlling fires of this magnitude, with unfavorable weather conditions like high temperature, wind, and a lack of humidity is a tremendously difficult job,” Boric said in a press conference Monday.

The president thanked nations that have sent firefighters and supplies to Chile, including Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

Chilean officials said that 325 homes have been destroyed by the wildfires, while another 1,140 homes have been damaged.

Police are investigating the causes of the current spate of wildfires. Boric on Monday said that in “99% of cases” wildfires in Chile are the result of human behavior.

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.

A woman holds a cat rescued after wildfires swept through homes near Lirquen, Chile, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

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)

A police officer clears burned roofing sheets from a home destroyed by wildfires in Tome, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

Resident Andres Garrido pushes a wheelbarrow with gas cylinders burned when wildfires destroyed homes in Tome, Chile, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Torres)

Andres Garrido carries burned roofing sheets at his home after it was burned 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)

NEW YORK (AP) — A big rally for global stock markets that began in Asia on Monday petered out by the time trading got to Wall Street.

The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 154 points, or 0.3%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.

The modest moves followed a 3.9% burst higher for Japan’s Nikkei 225 to a record. Stocks rallied there following a landslide victory for the prime minister’s political party in a parliamentary election. The thought is that will give Sanae Takaichi more power to push through reforms that will boost the economy and market.

On Wall Street, the U.S. stock market took a pause following its own big rally on Friday, which was its best day since May. Several concerns still hang over the market, including criticism that stocks have simply become too expensive. The S&P 500 remains near its all-time high set last month.

Worries are also heavy about whether all the huge spending by Big Tech and other companies on AI can produce enough profit to make the investments worth it.

The majority of stocks fell on Wall Street Monday, but some of the winners of that rush into AI helped prop up the market. Chip companies rose, for example, with Nvidia up 3.3% and Broadcom up 1.5%. They were two of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500.

Kroger climbed 8.2% after the grocer named a former Walmart executive as its new chief executive officer.

On the losing end was Hims & Hers, which sank 26.9% after Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit and alleged Hims & Hers is unlawfully selling versions of its weight-loss treatments. Novo Nordisk’s stock that trades in the United States rose 5.8%.

Hims & Hers in turn said, “Big Phama is weaponizing the US judicial system to limit consumer choice” in a post on the X account for the company's communications team.

Workday fell 7.5% after the AI platform said its CEO, Carl Eschenbach, is stepping down. Company Co-founder Aneel Bhusri is returning as chief executive.

Transocean slipped 0.8% after the offshore drilling company said it would buy Valaris in an all-stock deal valued at $5.8 billion. Valaris leaped 22.5%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of several potentially market-moving reports coming later in the week. The U.S. government will offer the latest monthly update on the health of the job market on Wednesday. Friday will bring the latest monthly reading of inflation at the consumer level.

Either report could sway expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold, but a weakening of the job market could push it to resume more quickly. Too-hot inflation, on the other hand, could keep it on hold for longer.

One of the reasons the U.S. stock market remains close to records is the expectation that the Fed will continue cutting interest rates later this year. Lower rates can give the economy a boost, though they can also worsen inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.22%, where it was late Friday.

Other markets that had whipped through more violent moves over recent weeks were showing some relative calm.

Gold added 1.5% to climb back above $5,000 per ounce. It’s been swinging sharply after roughly doubling in price over 12 months and ,it has bounced between $4,500 and nearly $5,600. Silver, whose price has been even wilder, rose 5.5% Monday.

Bitcoin dipped back toward $69,000 after climbing above $71,000 over the weekend. It had dropped close to $60,000 last week, more than halfway below its record set in October.

In stock markets abroad, indexes jumped across Asia with Japan’s surge. South Korea’s Kospi leaped 4.1%, while stocks rose 1.8% in Hong Kong and 1.4% in Shanghai.

The moves were more modest in Europe, where indexes were mixed.

AP Videojournalist Mayuko Ono and AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Specialist Anthony Matesic works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A security guard stands guard at the gate of Tokyo Stock Exchange building, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)