Highlights: Fires in Chile: in Viña del Mar, solidarity chains to help those who have lost everything. In Chile, the death toll from the fires which struck the Valparaiso region, on the central coast, rose to 123 deaths. More than 15,000 homes were totally or partially destroyed. A nighttime curfew was thus extended to this Tuesday, between 9:00 p.m. local time and 5:00 a.m., in order to facilitate the work of forensic doctors.

In Chile, the death toll from the fires which struck the Valparaiso region, on the central coast, rose to 123 deaths. More than 15,000 homes were totally or partially destroyed. Several…

Fires in Chile: in Viña del Mar, solidarity chains to help those who have lost everything

In Chile, the death toll from the fires which struck the Valparaiso region, on the central coast, rose to 123 deaths. More than 15,000 homes were totally or partially destroyed. Several fires are still active in different places in the country, in the center and also the south. But the huge fire that hit the town of Viña del Mar and its surroundings is under control. Now it's time to clean up in an apocalyptic landscape.

Chile, Viña del Mar, February 3: scenes of desolation due to the fires which devastated thousands of homes and killed more than 120 people. REUTERS - SOFIA YANJARI

By: RFI Follow

The residents are busy trying to restore order to their land, but the memory of the terrible hours of the fire is still in everyone's minds. When we arrive at the scene of the fire, the panorama is truly striking, we have the impression of being on a battlefield where bombs have exploded because the houses have been gutted, reports our special correspondent,

Naïla Derroisné

Sometimes there are only a few walls that are still standing, but in the majority of cases there is nothing left, just piles of metal sheets. There is also a permanent veil of smoke: it stings the eyes and you have to wear a mask, because there is a lot of ash in the air.

Where we were yesterday afternoon was a real anthill: many people came to help collect the debris, throw away the burnt scrap metal. Some also come to distribute food, water, or hygiene kits. A nighttime curfew was thus extended to this Tuesday, between 9:00 p.m. local time and 5:00 a.m., in order to facilitate the work of forensic doctors, clearing debris and attempting to restore certain public services.

Chile, Viña del Mar, residents in the ruins of their houses destroyed by fires. AP - Cristobal Basaure

A real chain of solidarity has been put in place, because for the moment neither the town hall nor the government has yet visited this particular sector... some residents deplore it, others are more lenient, because they know that thousands of homes were hit.

Read alsoFires in Chile: scenes of chaos and a heavy toll that could still evolve

Fires in Chile: in Viña del Mar, solidarity chains to help those who have lost everything

Fires in Chile: in Viña del Mar, solidarity chains to help those who have lost everything

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