Santiago is, again, covered in smoke. According to AQICN, the air of the whole city of Santiago is "Unhealthy", and even some neighboring cities like Rancagua which usually escape the smog from regular polution are severely affected.
The local and international news are terse, talking about 12 fires in various regions, and incoming winds which make the fires harder to stop. Nobody mentions that the firefighers are all volunteers (no profesional), and in insuficient numbers (it appears they fought against the profesionalisation of the profession) with insuficient equipment (their equipment is either donated from foreign brigades or bought with donation money).
A coleague mentioned that the recent increase in the frequency of such fire is not as much due to more frequent drought but much more due to the increase in criminally started fires, by people paid by promoters who wish to build housing in this era of increased immigration in Chile. I could not find a reference to it in the news, but it does seem in the spirit of unbriddled liberalism which runs here... :(
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