PUBLISHED : 22 Jan 2026 at 12:45

An aerial view shows the charred remains of destroyed homes after a wildfire ravaged Lirquen, a town in Penco near the city of Concepcion, Chile, on Jan 20, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

LIRQUEN, Chile - Police in south-central Chile have arrested a man on suspicion of starting one of the recent wildfires that killed 21 people and razed entire neighbourhoods, the government said on Wednesday.

Security Minister Luis Cordero said the suspect used a liquid accelerant to start fires in a wheat field, with authorities seizing five litres of fuel from him.

He was arrested at dawn in the town of Perquenco in Araucania region, south of Biobio.

The fires began simultaneously on Saturday in various parts of the Biobio and Nuble regions, about 500 kilometres south of the capital Santiago.

Fanned by strong winds and high temperatures, the flames quickly ripped through the coastal towns of Penco, Lirquen and Punta de Parra, leaving a blackened landscape of smoldering ruins.

Interior Minister Alvaro Elizalde told a press conference on Wednesday that an estimated 20,000 people suffered property damage from the fires, including some 800 homes that were destroyed.

President Gabriel Boric visited Biobio on Wednesday, where he said: “We’re working with heavy machinery to clear streets andremove debris, and we continue fighting the fire.

“We’re still in a state of emergency,” he added.

Other fires were later reported further inland, in the Biobio town of Florida, about 40 kilometres east of the city of Concepcion and in Araucania.

Cordero said substances used to start fires, including plastic containers containing accelerant, were found in Concepcion.

Firefighters were still battling 35 blazes on Wednesday — 22 in Biobio, five in Nuble and eight in Araucania, according to national forestry officials.

A drop in temperature in recent days has helped ease the situation.

“We managed to reduce the intensity of the fire,” Carlos Zulieta, a firefighter in Florida told AFP, adding that it was now advancing “more slowly.”

The government said it would pay compensation of $700 to $1,500 to victims.

Aid began trickling into affected areas on Wednesday.

Municipal workers and private companies were delivering portable toilets and generators to Lirquen, where some families are camped out in the ruins of their homes.

In February 2024, wildfires broke out around the coastal resort of Vina del Mar, 110km from Santiago, leaving 138 dead.

Investigations revealed that firefighters and forestry brigade members started the fire, which spread rapidly due in part to high temperatures during the southern hemisphere’s summer.