Chile: 19 February 1999
19 February 1999
Several active fire signals and smoke plumes are recorded by OSEI with the NOAA AVHRR Sensor on 18 February 1999.
Fig.1. NOAA AVHRR image of the vegetation fires in Chile and Argentina 18 February 1999
(Source: NOAA http://www.osei.noaa.gov/ )
The fires currently burning near Concepción, Region Bío-Bío, Chile, are located in a region where agricultural and grazing lands are found as well as extended pine plantations.
Additional background information: According to the 10-year fire statistics (1989-98) the fires causes in Chile are: transiting people (30%), intentionally set (29%), forest slash burning (7%), agricultural burning (7%), unknown (13%).
Tab.1. National fire occurrence and burned areas in Chile1994 – 1999
(Until 9 February 1999)
FIRE SEASON
FIRES
PLANTATIONS
(ha)
NATURAL FOREST
OTHERS AREAS
TOTAL
(ha)
AVERAGE (ha/Fire)
1993/94
2.563
1.977,17
28.532,69
830,86
31.340,72
12,23
1994/95
2.175
1.259,20
10.461,76
1.028,53
12.749,49
5,86
1995/96
2.971
2.600,51
17.227,80
2.564,27
22.392,58
7,54
1996/97
1.947
2.438,17
6.175,50
1.717,23
10.330,90
5,31
1997/98
2.045
1.179,81
10.419,95
404,52
12,004.28
5,87
Average
2.340
1.890,97
14.563,54
1.309,08
17.763,59
7,59
1998/99
3.121
2.716,03
35.919,37
2.117,71
40.753,11
13,06
Note: Not including the recent fire in the Concepción area which burned approxiametely 28.000 to 30.000 ha
For some older fire analyzes and statistics: See International Forest Fire News. Photographic impressions of fires in Chile are provided in the Photo Archive.
Additionaly to the fires burning in Chile, large area burned can be observed in the Mendoza Province, Argentina near the city of San Rafael. For additional information on forest fires in Argentina refer to the International Forest Fire News.
A more recent report on fire management in Chile was presented in Brazil in 1998:
Sanhueza, Patricio I. 1998. Cooperación de los sectores public y privado en el control de los incendios forestales en Chile: Organización e integración: Claves para un buen resultado. Presented at the First South American Seminar/Fifth Tech. meeting on the Control of Forest Fires, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 29 June to 2 July 1998.
