Raging Flames

      “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 

     And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground.”

Genesis 19:24,25

     “And the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 9:23 

Perilous Times and Climate Change

25 Raging Forest fires destroy Chilean homes, forests

Published December 13, 2010
EFE

Santiago --  Some two dozen forest fires have burned thousands of hectares of land in and near several communities in central Chile, a situation that has forced authorities to decree a red alert in the area with the aim of obtaining more resources to allow them to battle the blazes.

The regional director of the National Forestry Corporation, or Conaf, Julio Figueroa, told reporters on Monday that dozens of volunteers from the organization, along with firefighters, police and members of the armed forces were fighting the fires.

According to a communique from the Valparaiso regional government, five helicopters and an equal number of cistern aircraft are being used to help control the fires.

"We have more than 20 homes damaged in at least four communities, and as soon as these events are over we'll be able to calibrate with exactness the impact of these fires," said the national director of the Onemi emergency management office, Vicente Nu, on Monday.

Just in Valparaiso, the fires have destroyed more than 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres), along with several homes, and firefighters there have been forced to press all available personnel into service.

In addition, the strong winds and high temperatures are making it easy for the fires to spread in the Valparaiso region, where the main zones affected have been San Antonio, Petorca, Marga-Marga and Chile's second-largest city of Valparaiso.