Chile: Forest Fires – An Evil that Chile Controls (IFFN No. 8 – January 1993)

Forest Fires:
An Evil that Chile Controls

(IFFN No. 8 – January 1993, p. 5-7)

The surface area affected by forest fires in Chile diminished by 62 per cent in the season that ended in May this year. The result is a distinct reflection on the efficiency in combating these disasters.

Effectiveness: This concept can serve to summarise the work of the Fire Control Department of the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF) during the last forest-fire fighting season. The greatest achievement was having managed to reduce the surface area affected over the season, which runs from November to May, by 62 per cent, from the five-year period average of 63,530 hectares to only 24,153 hectares.

For the head of the Fire Control Department, Miguel Angel Ahumada, the outstanding thing about this success was that “the affected area was reduced despite the level of occurrence of forest fires having remained unchanged. The five-year period average was 4,835 fires and last season there were 4,786. This is clear proof of efficiency in combating forest fires”. Another point that Miguel Angel Ahumada stressed was that the reduction of the surface area affected by forest fires in the country meant that there had been a drop in the average hectares per fire. The average, which had been 13.14 hectares per fire, dropped to 7.47 hectares per fire for the season that ended last May. For all the members of CONAF’s Fire Control Department, this figure is truly a historic landmark.

“When taking stock”, Ahumada said, “one cannot ignore that the improved work of the fire-fighters, who are the ones that achieve these results, was favoured by the quality of the clothing having been maintained and the improvement in some equipment , such as for example boots as well as camp installations. In the safety aspect, the use of a double-filter mask should be highlighted”. As regards the equipment the fire-fighters work with, he indicated that the most important feature of the season was the contracting and operating of the Bell 205 A-1 Helitanker helicopter, which was a valuable contribution in Region VIII. In addition, a communications network was implemented that made it possible in coordination with the other seven existing helicopters in other regions, to be prepared to face any high-risk emergency, as concerns forest fires, that should arise in this country.

Prevention: One aspect that was reinforced last season, with positive results, was prevention. “Based on the fact that one hundred per cent of the forest fires are caused by man, it was essential that greater efforts should be thrown into working on the occurrence of fires. The end objective is to achieve an ostensible reduction in fire-occurrence levels”, Ahumada explained. And a clear proof that this statement was put into practice was that CONAF, exerting a great effort, substantially increased its prevention budget.

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Fig.1. Prevention and efficiency in combating forest fires were the essential elements of the success achieved in the recent season, during which the affected surface area was reduced. Outstanding in the prevention were the motorcyclists. (source: Chilean Forestry News)

One variable that the head of CONAF’s Fire Control Department did not obviate, in the good results achieved last season, was the coordination with the forestry companies which, through their own Prevention Programmes, have high-level brigades and equipment for fighting forest fires. Miguel Angel Ahumada ended by saying that “the existing understanding enabled an optimum use of each available resource. We hope to keep on this path of teamwork, particularly as concerns prevention, a topic we feel the same way about”.

Tab.1. Summary of wildfire occurrence and area affected by fire in Chile during the period 1986-1991.
Source: Fire Control Programme Statistical System, CONAF

From: Chilean Forestry News (August 1992)

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Chile: Forest Fires in Chile (IFFN No. 11 – July 1994)

Forest Fires in Chile

(IFFN No. 11 – July 1994, p. 4-6)

The vegetated surface of Chile susceptible to the occurrence of wildfires is ca. 29 million ha (corresponding to approximately 45% of the continental area of Chile) made up basically of native forests, brushlands and prairies. In addition there are 1.6 million ha of plantations, principally of Monterrey Pine (Pinus radiata) and Eucalyptus species. The fire season normally begins in November, reaches its peak in January and February, decreases in March, and ends in April. However, years with a dry winter or an early finishing or a later beginning of the rainy season may extend the fire season in some regions. Lightning storms or other natural agents (e.g. volcanic activities) as wildfire causes are insignificant or not present. Fires escaping from controlled burning in forests and in the agricultural sector, and children playing with matches are the most important causes. In the last season arson showed a critical increase. An average of ca. 5,000 wildfires is affecting ca. 50,000 ha of land per year. Detailed statistics for the period 1989-94 are given in Table 1.

Under one of the Technical Departments of the Chilean Forest Service, the National Forest Corporation (Corporación Nacional Forestal [CONAF]), the Fire Management Department is in charge of coordinating and executing activities connected with the protection of natural resources against the occurrence of forest fires and damage. First priority is given to protect national parks, forest reserves and wilderness areas (under administration of CONAF) and to support actions in forest lands of medium and small farmers. Large forest companies are responsible for protecting their lands since 1979.

Since practically all of the fires have a human origin one of the fundamental activities of this programme is the prevention of forest fires. A recently launched nationwide public education campaign aims at influencing the attitude of Chileans with regard to natural resources, to publicize the new lines of action of National Fire Management, and to stop the indiscriminate use of fire in forests and agricultural land.

Fig.1. Average size of forest fires in Chile between 1964 and 1994.
(will be added later)

The Fire Management Programme is carried out by a permanent staff of forest engineers and technicians. During each fire season CONAF hires 1,400 temporary labourers for activities such as aerial and ground-based fire detection, radio operators, dispatchers, suppliers, crew bosses, squad bosses, and fire-figthers. Some positions, like dispatchers and crew bosses, are generally maintained during the off-season.

Each fire season CONAF operates with 75 crews, the number of hired fire fighters in each crew is 23, with the age from 19 to 29. The equipment and water pumps were purchased from Canada. During each season CONAF rents two light air tankers (Dromader M-18) and 7 helicopters (Bell Jet Ranger, Long ranger, Alouette, and Bell 204 B), depending on the available market and budget. Some fire-fighting operations have been carried out using Sims PTF-150 or Bambi buckets. For fire detection 59 lookout towers are operated and 27 light planes are rented for air patrol from air clubs or private companies.

Due to the fast response and efficiency of the organization, 86.3% of the fires are extinguished before burning an area of 5 ha. Only 0.9% of the total fires exceed 200 ha. Figure 1 shows the average size of forest fires between 1964 and 1994.

Tab.1.: Number of wildfires and the vegetated area affected by fire in chile between 1989 and 1994

2) Total of Forest Plantations and Natural Vegetation
2) Agricultural lands

From: Herbert Haltenhoff
Chief, National Prevention Program
Address:
National Forest Corporation CONAF
Av. Bulnes 285, of. 401
Santiago de Chile
Chile

Fax:++56-02-6712007

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Chile:The Chilean Forest Service and its Fire Management Program (IFFN No. 20 – March 1999)

The Chilean Forest Service and its Fire Management Program

(IFFN No. 20 – March 1999,p. 46-49)

Chile covers 756,262 km2 on the South American Continent and Oceanic Island (Easter Island and Archipelago of Juan Fernandez) territories, bordering Bolivia and Argentina in the East, Perú in the North, and the Pacific Ocean in the West. The maximum width of the country is 445 km and the minimum width is 90 km. Two mountain ranges characterize the topography of Chile, the Cordillera de Los Andes (Andes Range) on the East, separating Chile from Argentina, and the Cordillera de la Costa (Coastal Range) to the West which is lower than the Andes Range. Both ranges decrease in altitudes as they run southward. Only ca. 20% of the territory is flat terrain.

The temperature is homogeneous from the extreme north to the extreme south, with a difference of 12.8° C in average temperatures, which is modest for a 37° C difference in latitude. The annual rainfall varies greatly, from <1 mm in the North to 4,500 mm in the extreme South.

There are four well-defined seasons in most of the country, although there are a variety of the local climates, from hot arid in the North to subarctic in the South. Maximum temperatures in summer in the central area reach 33° C with 30% relative humidity and seldom fall lower than 0° C in winter. From the North to the South, snow is confined to the Andes Range. Only in the extreme South snow is normally present.

Close to 45% of the continental area of Chile is suitable for forestry. This area is already covered by forest or by other vegetation. Of these 39 million ha, 15.6 million ha are native forest, 20.5 million ha are brush and grassland and 2.1 million ha are plantation forests, predominantly Monterrey pine (Pinus radiata D. Don.) (90%), the remaining plantations are eucalypts and poplars.

Almost all productive forest land belongs to private owners. Only National Parks (14 million ha) and other protected and public land (2 million ha) are under governmental adminstration.

The National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), the Chilean forest service, depends on the Ministry of Agriculture and is the organization in charge of forestry development, national parks, protected areas and wildlife administration, conservation and protection of forest resources, law enforcement and, mainly, in charge of Government relations with the private forestry sector, in order to apply the current general and economic policy of the Government.

There is a long history of human-caused fires in Chile, primarily caused by settlers or farmers which used fire for land clearing. This kind of land-use fires continued until the first decades of the 20th century.

No records of the fire occurrence and damages were kept until 1963, when a Forest Police Force was created as a branch of the National Police Force. The Forest Police Force formed crews with its own personnel and volunteers that lived near the police stations in the country. The action was aimed solely at fire suppression, without the support of planning, detection systems, operational centers, records, etc.

CONAF has developed forest fire protection activities since 1972 with a constant increase in technology and equipment. At present the role of the Forest Police Force has changed, discontinuing the suppression action and focusing on the enforcement of law and investigation of the fire causes.

The private forestry companies have developed forest fire protection activities since 1978 with a constant increase in technology and equipment aimed to protect their own lands.

Table 1 shows the national forest fire control resources used in 1997/98 season in Chile.

Tab.1. Forest Fire Control Resources

Other suppression forces are the City Fire Departments. Firemen of certain cities work quite efficiently and they are a useful support force in urban-wildland interface areas.

Special emphasis is given to fire suppression personnel safety through a Safety Program in each crew. Prior to the fire season this personnel is formally trained or receives refresher courses. However, special training is given to crew bosses. Accidents are an important problem: Since 1974 26 firefighters, 6 pilots and 1 air observers died in fire accidents.

Fire occurrence normally begins in November, reaches a peak in January and February and decreases in April. But in the last year El Niño had anticipating and active fire season in some regions.

Nearly all the fires are caused by humans. Lightning or other natural causes are insignificant or not present. Average data of the last 10 fire season reveal that 10.9% of the wildfires are caused by the use of fire in forestry and agricultural activities, 31.2% by carelessness. Children playing with matches cause 9.9% of the total fire starts, reaching significant importance near some cities. Intentionally set fires (arson) represent 34.9% of fire causes while unknown causes account for 13.1%.

The problem of forest fires has been increasingly worsened by the economic and social transformation faced by our country in the last decades. Industrialization, increase of tourism and the mobility of citizens have excessively increased the risk of fire. Fire statistics for the period 1965-1998 are given in Table 2.

Tab.2. Wildfire occurrence and are burned in Chile 1964-1998

The following graphic (Fig.1) shows an increase in the number of forest fires in the mid 1980s and a stabilizing trend in the mid 1990s. This development may reflect the impacts of a national fire prevention program of CONAF using TV, newspapers, posters, and road signs, especially in rural areas. For the use of fire in forest and agricultural work, CONAF has established by law a special regulation for using fire under a controlled burning method (burning permit system), with heavy fines for violators.

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Fig.1. Development of the number of wildfires in Chile during the last 34 years (1965-1998)

The curve of burned area (Fig.2) is very irregular. Is to be attributed primarily to the unfavourable weather conditions, prolonged absence of rain, that prevailed especially in the south of the country.

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Fig.2. Development of the area burned by wildfires in Chile during the last 34 years (1965-1998)

The 1997/98 Forest Fire Season in Chile

The 1997/98 (November to April) fire season in Chile will reflect a 88.4% increase in burned areas over 10 average, but the fire will be in the top worst 10 years. This large consumption of forest land in part reflects the intensity of the fire activity and evidence of an abnormally weather pattern developing. Chile is currently suffering the worst dry seasons in the last 60 years.

Table 3 shows the 1997/98 data in comparison with the 10 years average.

Tab.3. Wildfire statistics of Chile 1987-98 in comparison with the decade 1988-98

Note: Season November to April

In the south of the country, in X Region (Lake Region) and XI Región (Patagonian Region), over 35 forest fires were reported during the second week of February 1998. The hot weather pattern, the prolonged absence of rain, the influence of the local ‘Puelche’ type winds, and the remote and wildland area escalated the severity of the situation. A state of emergency was declared in this region, called military personal to help and firefighters of CONAF and fireline equipment had been mobilized from across the country. The situation across this region was critical.

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The control this forest fire during in average 20 days and 65,787 ha of native forest and brushland was consumed. This area represented 72.4% of the national damage in this season.

In this season one fatality was reported: A PZL-18 Dromader air tanker crashed during fire operations in the V Region, the pilot died. Hot and windy often adversely flight performance.

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Fig.3. & 4.  GOES and NOAA/AVHRR images of the fires in Chile near Concepción, 9 & 10 February 1999, as  processed by OSEI and displayed and interpreted by the Global Fire Monitoring Center during the February 1999 fire event.
(Source: NOAA http://www.osei.noaa.gov/ )

Herbert Haltenhoff
Chief, National Fire Prevention Program Fire Management Department
National Forestry Corporation
Av. Bulnes 285 of. 201
Santiago, Chile Fax: ++56-2-6994605
e-mail: hhaltenh@conaf.cl

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IFFN No. 20
Country Notes

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Chile: Forest Fire Situation IFFn No. 27

 

Fire Situation in Chile

(will be published in IFFN No. 27)

Patricio I. Sanhueza
Fire Management Department, CONAF

Fire Environment, fire regimes and ecological role of fire in Chile
Chile, South America’s longest country, with a length of 4,267 kilometers and a continental area of 756,945 sq. Km (excluding the Chilean Antarctic Territory), has developed an important forestry sector in recent years. Forestry holds a significant position in the country economy. Forty-five percent of Chile’s territory is subjected to forest fires. There are soils preferentially suited for forestry; and forests cover 20.8 percent of the country’s area. The native forests occur mostly in the Andes Range, between the central and deep south. A vast commercial plantation area (2.1 million hectares) covers mainly the Coastal Range, where Monterey pine and Eucalyptus sp. plantations sustain 90 percent of the Chilean forest industry.
With a Mediterranean climate and a long dry season, Chile’s single forest fire season normally occurs between October and April, with a period of maximum activity between December and February. 
On average, some 5,200 forest fires are recorded each season, mainly in Region IV, approximately 500 kilometres north of Santiago, to Region X (city of Puerto Montt). Further north, vegetation is scarce or non-existent in the Atacama Desert. In the southern Regions XI and XII, Coyhaique and Punta Arenas cities, the abundant moisture and low population density (fewer than 0.7 inhabitants per square kilometer) protect the lush, thousand-year-old Humid Temperate Native Forests from fires.
Fires affect an average of 52,400 hectares each season, destroying mainly native vegetation (95.7 per cent). This vegetation is composed principally of pasturelands, scrubland, shrubs and, to a lesser degree, plantations. The average size of fires has dropped from 38.2 hectares in the 1960s and 1970s to around 9.1 hectares in the 1990s. There are fewer large fires: 87.1 percent of the fires are less than 5.0 hectares and 92.4 percent are under 10.0 hectares.

Figure 1 Fire in Monterey pine and Eucalyptus sp. plantations.

Following Brown and other’s fire regimes description, the damage in the old Humid Temperate Native Forests (Nothofagus sp. and other species) applies to the Understorey fires and/or Mixed severity fire regime classes. In the first one, the fires are generally non-lethal to the dominant vegetation and do not substantially change the structure of the dominant vegetation. In the second one, severity of fire either causes selective mortality in dominant vegetation, depending on different tree species susceptibility to fire, or varies between understorey and stand replacement.
The fires in young Monterey pine and Eucalyptus sp. plantations, Mediterranean Native Forests (Bosque Esclerófilo), shrublands and grasslands apply to the Stand replacement fire regime class. Fires here kill aboveground parts of the dominant vegetation, changing the aboveground structure substantially. Approximately 80 percent or more of the aboveground dominant vegetation is either consumed or dies as a result of fires.
Finally, the Non-fire regime class is represented in Humid Temperate Native Forests in high elevations of the Andes Range, in wet sites and in the deep south of the country.

National definition of what constitutes a forest fire: Any fire which spreads in an uncontrolled manner, without limits, on wildlands and interface areas, which affects any kind of vegetation, structures, powerlines, railroads, facilities, etc.

Narrative summary of major wildfire impacts on people, property and natural resources that occurred historically
Since southern and deep southern colonization began in 1850, people have used fire to clear land for grazing and for agriculture. The impenetrable native forests, with their long rotations, were an obstruction to agricultural development. Clearing fires became forest fires, which lasted for days, months and, in some cases, for more than a year. The forests suffered as they were burned often. There was no technology, knowledge, means, or organization for fighting the fires. The main damage has been soil losses and fertility losses because of the erosion.

Figure 2 Fire effects in humid temperate native forests.

In the 20th Century, the fires still affected the central area native forests, changing the natural composition of species, damaging timber and influencing the economical status of the local people. Also, the wildfires caused fatalities, structure losses and affected the biodiversity, wildlife and the ecology in general. Interface fires also have been a problem, since they disturb normal life in the main Chilean cities of Valparaíso, Viña del Mar and Concepción.

Narrative summary of major wildfire impacts on people, property and natural resources during the 1990´s
In comparison with the 1980´s, during the 1990´s Chile increased its occurrence of fires by 13 percent, from an average of 4,800 to 5,530 fires per year. The average of 5,200 fires/year was surpassed and the level of over 6,000 fires was reached during the 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1998-99 fire seasons. Nevertheless, the average size of fires dropped from 11.3 to 9.1 hectares/fire, due to improved strategies, organizational methods and co-operation among the firefighting partners.
In terms of damage, several droughts during 1992, 1993, 1997 and 1998 caused enormous costs to Chile in terms of losses in environment, facilities and miscellaneous structures. The “El Niño Southern Oscillation” brought one of the most severe fire seasons at the end of the1990´s. During the 1997-1998 fire season, the fire behaviour was extreme in the deep south (Regions X and XI).
The fire problems moved during the 1998-1999 season to the central part of the country (Regions VI to IX) and caused the most difficult fire season in Chile’s history (6,830 fires and 101,691 hectares burned). In this season, the “La Rufina” fire in Region VI burned 25,400 hectares, 14 houses, cattle and powerlines, among other losses.

       Figure 3 CONAF and Army operations at “La Rufina” fire.

During the 1990´s, the environmental conditions also caused threats to fire crews. In 30 years, Chile has recorded 33 fatalities (firefighters, crew bosses, helitackers, pilots and, staff personnel); and 33 percent happened during the decade of the 1990s.
The local and urban border communities also have been at increased risk, because interface fires are more common than in the past. Urban development towards the forest in such cities as Concepción, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago, Temuco and local condominiums within the wilderness areas has confronted people with fires. In addition, this new situation has increased the risk to fire personnel. The fires are more complex to fight, due to the mixture of different fuels and structures in the interface. Often this situation forces the overhead team to change the fire strategies to safeguard life and property.
During the late 1990s arson fires increased substantially in certain southern Regions, impacting Monterey pine plantations, people and private property.

Figure 4 Homes threatened by fires near Concepción.

Fire management organization used in Chile
Fire Control is a governmental- by law- responsibility, carried out by the Corporacion Nacional Forestal (CONAF). CONAF is the country’s Forestry Service, an organization created in 1970 and attached to the Ministry of Agriculture. It has the mission to “Guarantee for society the sustainable use of forest ecosystems and efficient management of the National State-owned protected Wilderness Areas System, with a view to contributing to the improvement of quality of life for present and future generations”. The fulfilment of this mission is achieved, among others, by protecting forest ecosystems from the action of harmful agents, such as wildfires. 
CONAF carries out an organized Forest Fire Management Programme through actions of prevention, pre-suppression and suppression throughout the country. With the support of the United Nations, U.S. and Canadian agencies, Chilean specialists have been able to visit other countries and receive training with the most advanced technologies. In turn, Chileans hosted specialists from those countries. This exchange of specialists has been helpful in building a successful programme.
As the only government agency in the forestry sector, CONAF has implemented a single national standard in forest firefighting operations. This has been the first key to success.
The second key has been the active participation of the private forestry sector, which committed to protecting its own lands according to forestry regulations beginning in the 1980s. Sixty-eight per cent of Chile’s land is in private hands, so this is a significant factor. Large and medium-sized firms, adopting and adapting the government’s expertise, are implementing their own forest fire protection programmes. 
Based on this momentum, CONAF has continued to protect the country’s forest heritage, such as parks and forest reserves, directly and, more importantly, to do so in a secondary role with small and medium-sized firms. 

Figure 5 Government-private sector helitack crew, near Lautaro.

Without doubt, it is this relationship between the two forest protection participants in Chile, which constitutes our third key to success in protecting forest resources.
Each season, CONAF and the forestry firms programme the operation of a total of 140 ground hand/engine crews, 24 helitack crews, in addition to such pre-suppression and co-ordination resources as 153 motorcycle prevention specialists, 25 dispatch centres and 241 lookout towers. 
The ground units are typically composed of 8 to 20 completely equipped and trained professional firefighters who operate manual tools, fire equipment and mechanised equipment (portable chain saws and motor pumps) with high safety standards. They are transported in light and medium vehicles (4×4 vans, minibuses, buses and trucks) and tanker trucks; and applies Class A suppressant foam.

Figure 6 Typical initial attack ground crews.

In Air Attack, during each fire season, a large fleet of powerful initial attack resources is operated. Twenty-two light airtankers, PZL, M‑18 Dromaders, Air-Tractors (AT602/802) and Turbo Thrushes, work together with large airtankers such as the Canadair CL-215 and the SP-2H Neptune.
Also 25 helicopters, such as Aerospatiale, SA 316B/SA-315B, Bell 206 B, L-III, 204/205-A-1/, 407/, 222/209 and Ecureuil AS-350s, work in Helitack equipped with Bambi-buckets, Helitanks and elite personnel. This air-mobile approach has demonstrated outstanding results and efficiency in containing and controlling a large number of fires in the country.
During the 1999-2000 fire season, Chile will begin to operate its first Hispanic female Helitack crew.

Figure 7 Some of the air attack fleet ready for fires.

Wildfire Database

Year Total No. of Fires on Forest, Other Wooded Land & Other Land

Total Area Burned on Forest, Other Wooded Land & Other Land
ha

Area of Forest Burned
ha

Area of Other Wooded Land Burned
ha

Human Causes
(*)
No

Natural Causes
(*)
No.

Unknown Causes
(*)
No.

1990

4114

25545 7308 18237 3649 — 465 1991 5193 50273 13578 36695 4695 — 498 1992 4786 24224 3807 20417 4370 — 416 1993 6114 49981 16343 33638 5588 — 526 1994 6210 65606 21052 44554 5719 — 491 1995 5354 26174 7588 18586 4915 — 439 1996 5886 40082 19083 20999 5392 — 494 1997 5487 43595 20150 23445 5311 — 176 1998 5329 90888 64147 26741 5057 — 272 1999 6830 101691 50898 50793 6359 — 471

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(*) Only 9.1 percent of the fire-causes are investigated

Total numberof fires and area burned in Chile between 1990 and 1999 on forest, other wooded land and other land. The data cover each fire season, i.e. 1990 corresponds to the 1989/1990 fire season. n./reg. = not registered.
Most fires are caused by human activities. Lightning or other natural causes are insignificant or not registered. People’s carelessness while passing near forest or shrub areas causes 30.7 percent. Carelessness while using fire in forestry and agricultural activities is significant, with 10.7 percent. Intentional activities cause 36.1 percent, recreation sports and children playing with fire cause 9.4 percent, other activities and other causes 4.1 percent and unknown causes account for 9.0 percent.
The wildfire database is managed by computer and paper records. The fire database will be available in CONAF´s website: www.conaf.cl at the end of year 2000).

  • Overall average annual number of fires: 5,200 fires

  • Overall average annual fire size: 10.3 hectares

  • Average annual number of fires in the 1990s: 5,530 fires

  • Average annual fire size in the 1990s: 9.14 hectares

Use of prescribed fire to achieve resource management objectives
In Chile, the use of fire (average of 300,000 hectares /year) has contributed to the development of the country, but it also has damaged natural resources, either intentionally or not. The initial objective was to make some areas suitable for agriculture and livestock raising. However, the global results have been negative for the country.
The use of fire has created conditions to have many fires burning thousands of hectares of forest. Due to these results, many laws have been enacted to control and regulate the use of fire in forestry and agricultural activities; and severe penalties have been established for infractions. In addition, these laws have defined suppression responsibilities and the private forest owner’s protection obligations. The principle legislation starts with the Penal Code (1874), followed by the “Forest Law” (1931) and the Supreme Decree 276 (1980). This last law stated the concept of “controlled burning off” to eliminate vegetation in a direct way, limited to a previously specified area, a specific day in the fire season and in compliance with stated technical rules to keep fire under control (firebreaks, burning methods, personnel support, etc).

Figure 8 Controlled burning off in the VIII Region.

In 1990, the concept of “prescribed burning off” was introduced for special counties that contained high risk and dangerous areas. These counties could develop hazard reduction burn plans that were signed by a forester.
Today the current policies and practices of the main forest companies are to reduce the use of fire as much as possible, limiting it to those circumstances where there are no other options. Alternative practices of using mechanical methods (chippers/biting machines, etc,) are carried out, being more acceptable by local communities. Improving the controlled application of prescribed fires and transferring this knowledge to small landowners that use fire is the main goal of CONAF for the 2000´s.

Public policies affecting wildfire impacts
The 1976, 1979 and 1982 laws describe CONAF’s functions. The enforcement and control of all regulations that rule these matters, besides the investigation of wildfire causes, is carried out by the Carabineros de Chile Forest Police. In addition, CONAF protects small forest owners who have not enough capacity to protect their own holdings; and CONAF assists medium and large private companies in fire protection through various forms of coordination, support and participation. To assure the fulfillment of this policy, CONAF has set up fire dispatching and firefighting priorities throughout Chile.
On the other hand, according to the Decree Law 701 regulations, private forest owners must submit a wildfire protection plan for their property; including prevention, pre-suppression and suppression activities, which are reviewed and controlled by specialists from CONAF.
Besides the prescribed fire policies, CONAF’s goals for 2000 are focused on improving local Government participation in prevention and suppression activities. Communities will be encouraged to adopt specific protection programmes to incorporate more technology in their operations and to safeguard human lives.

Figure 9 Fire prevention technology transfer day in Region IX.

Sustainable land use practices used in Chile to reduce wildfire hazards and wildfire risks
Law rules all forest management activities on forestland in Chile. The private owners must submit and follow a Forest Management Plan completed by a forester for their property, including forest regulation and protection activities. In these practices, inside and perimeter firebreak construction is considered. Also, the owners must have an annual maintenance programme for firebreaks.
In Monterey pine and Eucalyptus sp. plantations, where pruning, thinning and harvesting are conducted, slash is managed to reduce the fuel load.
Perhaps the most important land use practice to reduce wildfire risks is the one that reduces the use of uncontrolled fire in forestry and agricultural practices.
As in other countries, the development of green firebreak programmes that introduce less flammable species are in progress, which will help agro-silvicultural programmes for small owners.

Community involvement in fire management activities
The local community involvement in fire actions is one of CONAF’s main goals, because people cause almost 100 percent of fires.
The communities actively participate in special Prevention Programmes throughout fire-prone areas of the country. There are Recreational Journeys with sports activities (soccer games), fire prevention painting festivals, “traditional Indian folk presentations” (music, dance and songs) and focus group workshops with neighborhood committees. CONAF’s prevention specialists (anthropologists, elementary/high school teachers and foresters) work as facilitators to help people solve on-site fire problems.

 

Figure 10 CONAF´s prevention officer working with the future.

Using the county network programmes, local communities make their own firebreaks in high-risk interface areas every fire season.
Finally, following a CONAF on-site theater example where the shows are set up in high occurrence fire zones, local communities now have their own plays for their neighborhoods.

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IFFN No. 20
Country Notes

 

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