CONAF has delivered wildfire risk maps to all 32 municipalities in Chile’s La Araucanía region as authorities step up prevention planning ahead of the next high-risk fire season.
Regional officials have reviewed progress on Municipal Plans for the Prevention and Mitigation of Forest Fires, alongside risk mapping prepared by the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) for La Araucanía.
The maps provide each municipality with territorial information on wildfire occurrence, affected areas, causes and controlled burn records. Authorities said the data is intended to help local governments identify the communities and infrastructure most exposed to forest fire risk and target preventive measures before the summer period.
Municipal prevention and mitigation plans have already been submitted in Los Sauces, Traiguén and Victoria, while Lumaco is expected to join the submission process.
Francisco Ljubetic, regional presidential delegate, said the risk maps should serve as a starting point for local action. “Today, all 32 municipalities in La Araucanía have their fire risk maps, and we must work from there. It is imperative that each mayor carry out the tasks that correspond to them in their own municipalities,” he said.
The tools are designed to support fuel management, firebreaks, clearing of critical areas, work on road strips, preventive patrols, controls on the use of fire, community education and protection of urban-rural interface zones and critical infrastructure.
Authorities also said municipal progress will be monitored and called for specific local ordinances linked to forest fire prevention.
Héctor Tillería, regional director of CONAF, said prevention work must be completed before the highest-risk period begins. “This is the time when we have to work on forest fires, on prevention and mitigation measures, with firebreaks, with work in schools, in clinics and in critical infrastructure, to try to reach a summer with the established measures in place,” he said.
Tillería added that rural fire scenarios are becoming more complex because of the growth of housing in subdivided land areas, which can make wildfire suppression and control more difficult.
Ian Gorayeb, regional director of SENAPRED, said working groups are already under way to coordinate municipalities, public services and private organizations on drills and preparedness activities. The next challenge, officials said, is to turn the risk maps and municipal plans into practical interventions that reduce exposure, protect homes and infrastructure, and strengthen coordination among municipalities, CONAF, SENAPRED, firefighters, companies, farmers and communities.
