At least 13 dead as wildfires rage across Chile

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At least 13 dead as wildfires rage across Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile - At least 13 people have been reported dead due to more than 150 wildfires burning across Chile that have destroyed homes and thousands of acres of forest as the South American country is in the midst of a scorching heat wave.

The president Gabriel Boric of Chile, who suspended a vacation to the affected areas on Friday, said there was evidence that some fires had been caused by unauthorized burnings. The full force of the state will be deployed to fight the fires and to accompany all the victims, Mr. Boric said.

The fires had raged through more than 35,000 acres and 65 fires were declared under control as of midday Friday. It was not known how many homes and other structures had been burned.

The government has declared states of catastrophe, a designation that allows greater coordination with the military and the suspension of certain constitutional rights, is the main reason for the wildfires in the Biob o region and the neighboring uble region.