19 jan 2023

Authorities reopened the runway for firefighting operations at Maria Dolores Airfield in Los Angeles. They also highlighted the collaboration with a private company in providing fire-fighting resources.

The location of the Hercules C-130 aircraft was described as strategic, as was the reopening of the runway for forest fire extinguishing operations at the María Dolores Aerodrome in Los Angeles. Authorities also highlighted the use of these resources in the fires registered over the weekend in the region which were brought under control, despite adverse weather conditions.

Together with the Minister of Public Works, Juan Carlos García and his counterpart in Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, the regional representative, Daniela Dresdner, explained that the runway’s particular design and the fact that the large plane is located in the province of Biobío means that emergencies in both the Region of Ñuble and in La Araucanía can be responded to, and if necessary, in the rest of the country.

"We saw it this weekend, this aircraft helped us to fight fires that were endangering residential areas and thanks to this joint effort we managed to end the weekend with good news, since we had no impact on homes," Dresdner commented, recalling the accidents that consumed more than 100 hectares in Laja, Chiguayante and Hualqui.

Resources

The executive director of Conaf, Christian Little, stressed that the infrastructure at the airfield allows aircraft deployed for various emergencies to operate safely. The Hercules C-130 is a recent addition which he assured "moves 500 kilometers in an hour, as we saw in Chiguayante; in 45 minutes we had already completed a circuit, two discharges in an hour and a half, two complete circuits and that allows us to deliver security in other regions."

He added that the Hercules is one of the best aircraft when it comes to unloading efficiency time, in addition to the fact that it manages to load 15,000 liters of water in seven minutes and approaches up to 50 meters from the fire source. Other aircraft, such as AT aircraft, allow loads of between 1,300 and 1,500 liters, allowing efficient and quick fire response times.

Private companies also contribute with firefighting resources. For example, CMPC has 22 aircraft, 1,220 heli-runways and GPS heli-points, 32 runways and water loading -own and in  agreement with Corma and Conaf-, 441 water sources for helicopter loading, 64 aircraft loading pools,  108 ground combat brigades and numerous tools distributed in the country to face this fire season.

The regional president of Corma Biobío-Ñuble, Alejandro Casagrande, highlighted the collaborative and joint work that the private and state sectors have managed to develop and which, during the weekend was evidenced in the fight against the fire in Laja, Chiguayante and Hualqui, and which is replicated throughout the year.

In this context, said Casagrande, "we are having a problem in the province of Concepción, where the occurrence of fires is just over 50% higher than last year, with a high intentionality. We are talking about 54% intentionality in the area and damage that although not in a large area, is almost 5 times more than what was burned last year. "