Smoke over the Pacific Coast: Sentinel-3 Satellite Captures Scale of Major Wildfires in Central and Southern Chile
A satellite image from the European Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission, taken on January 18, 2026, captured thick clouds of smoke hovering over the Chilean Pacific coast. The display specifically highlights the area around Concepción, one of the larger cities in the Biobío region, approximately 570 kilometers southwest of the capital, Santiago. The European Space Agency (ESA) states that the fires were spreading across multiple locations along the coast during those days, including the Ñuble and Biobío regions, for which a constitutional state of exception – a state of catastrophe – has been declared. The image has become a visual reminder of how quickly seasonal fires, when combined with extreme weather conditions, can escalate into a crisis of national proportions.
In the image description, ESA points out that the fires were exacerbated by intense heat and strong winds. According to forecasts at the time, parts of central and southern Chile could have reached temperatures up to
35 °C on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, which, along with drought and wind, creates conditions for the rapid spread of fire and hinders firefighting efforts. ESA noted in the same review that "hundreds" of houses had already been destroyed in the fires and that at least 19 casualties had been reported, noting that figures change as confirmations arrive from the field. Such dynamics, services warn in similar situations, are common in the first days of major disasters, when certain areas are inaccessible, and teams are simultaneously saving people, evacuating settlements, and only then systematically assessing the damage.
Official Tolls: 20 Dead, Thousands Affected, and Hundreds of Destroyed Homes
SENAPRED, the Chilean National Disaster Prevention and Response Service, published an updated toll on January 20, 2026, following a meeting of the crisis committee (COGRID). According to that report,
20 people had died in the fires up to that point, while
7,237 people were recorded as affected by the disaster. The same document states that
590 houses were destroyed. At that time,
562 people were accommodated in reception centers, with
18 operational shelters, giving a picture of the scale of humanitarian needs and logistics that local communities and the state must maintain for days or weeks.
The toll also includes damage to public facilities, which is particularly important for life after the disaster. Minister of the Interior Álvaro Elizalde, cited in the official statement, stated that
seven educational institutions (four kindergartens and three primary and secondary schools) were destroyed or seriously damaged, and
four health facilities were also affected. Such data indicate that the crisis is not only taking place on the "firefighting – evacuation" line but also on the front of ensuring basic public services: from emergency medicine and care for vulnerable groups to the organization of classes and psychosocial support. In practice, this means that the consequences of the fires, even when the flames subside, often continue through a long recovery of infrastructure and living conditions.
Evacuations and Warning System: More Than 50,000 People Moved from Endangered Zones
In the first days of the state of emergency, according to an official statement from SENAPRED on January 18, 2026,
87 SAE system messages (alert system via mobile networks) were sent to encourage evacuation. SENAPRED states that these messages enabled the relocation of
more than 50,000 people from the highest-risk areas. Such a scale of evacuation speaks to the breadth of the fire zones, but also to the fact that the fire was moving near settlements, where reaction time is often limited to hours. In a later update on January 20, 2026, SENAPRED stated that from January 17 onwards, it had sent a total of
167 SAE messages ranging from the Ñuble region to Araucanía, illustrating how rapidly evacuation and warning needs changed from day to day.
Shelters were opened in a series of municipalities in the first hours and days. SENAPRED stated on January 18 that reception centers had been activated, among others, in the municipalities of Ránquil, Bulnes, Quillón, Pinto, Coihueco, and Trehuaco in the Ñuble region, while in Biobío shelters were available in Concepción, Penco, Tomé, Laja, and Talcahuano. The organization of accommodation, logistics, and supply became a parallel front alongside operations on the ground, as many families had to evacuate in a short time and without the possibility of taking most of their belongings. In such circumstances, every piece of information about the movement of the fire and the passability of roads becomes crucial, and services regularly call on residents not to block roads and not to approach fire zones out of curiosity.
How the Fires Flared Up: Extreme Heat and Wind as "Risk Multipliers"
The meteorological background of this crisis was announced days before the escalation. SENAPRED, CONAF (National Forestry Corporation), and the Chilean Meteorological Service (DMC) warned on January 16, 2026, that very high temperatures were expected between Friday and Sunday from the Coquimbo region to Los Ríos. In a joint message, it was emphasized that such a heatwave poses an increased health risk but also creates conditions favorable for the rapid spread of fires, as it dries out vegetation and increases the "combustibility" of the terrain. DMC meteorologist Arnaldo Zúñiga explained in that address that it was a strengthening of a high-pressure system with the influence of the so-called "Bolivian High," which encourages air subsidence and additional heating at ground level. The DMC also warned that, even after a possible brief mitigation along the coast, high temperatures in the Maule–Ñuble–Biobío zones and part of Araucanía could persist for the following days.
In the same phase, CONAF director Rodrigo Illesca warned that "any spark" in such conditions would more easily turn into a fire and called on residents to avoid activities that create sparks or open flames. The statement specifically lists recommendations such as banning the burning of waste outdoors, avoiding tools that can create sparks, and caution when spending time in nature. Such warnings gain importance when fires develop near populated areas, where the forest and shrub belt directly touches the urban edge. In such zones, even a small mistake can grow into a fire that threatens houses and infrastructure, and the wind makes predicting the direction of spread even more difficult.
Great Engagement on the Ground: Aircraft, Brigades, and Thousands of Firefighters
SENAPRED reported on January 18 that
34 aircraft were being kept operational to respond to the crisis in the Ñuble and Biobío regions, along with the work of brigadists and machinery on the ground. In the same statement, Minister Álvaro Elizalde presented details on the deployment of forces: in Ñuble, 11 aircraft along with 10 brigades were engaged at the time, in Biobío 13 aircraft along with 25 brigades, while the number of deployed firefighters, according to his words, amounted to about 1,200 in Ñuble and 2,500 in Biobío. Additionally, extra air support coordinated by SENAPRED is mentioned, showing that operations are conducted as a combination of state, regional, and specialized capacities. In practice, such a system relies on the synchronization of aerial and ground firefighting, but also on safe evacuation and the protection of critical infrastructure.
Elizalde warned in the same statement that capacities are not unlimited and that every new fire means diverting resources from existing fronts. In practice, this means that every new "focus" can open a new line of defense, require additional evacuations, and increase the risk for settlements that are already threatened. Therefore, official messages strongly emphasize prevention, but also compliance with instructions on the ground, especially during evacuations. Authorities have repeatedly reminded that it is important to leave roads passable, as any traffic jam can slow down the arrival of fire trucks or the delivery of equipment and water. In large fires, time is often a key variable: an hour or two can be the difference between a defended settlement and total damage.
Smoke from Space: What the Satellite Image Actually Tells Us
The image published by ESA was created by the
Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) on the Sentinel-3 satellite. OLCI is an imaging spectrometer that operates in
21 spectral bands and records data on ocean color and vegetation, with a spatial resolution of
300 meters. ESA points out that such data serves to monitor the ocean ecosystem, support agriculture and crop management, and assess atmospheric aerosols and clouds. In crises like this, that "atmospheric" part of the information becomes particularly valuable: smoke, its boundaries, and density can be monitored over a large area and compared from day to day. Although a satellite image does not extinguish a fire by itself, it provides a better context for understanding the scale of the event and gives a broader picture of what is often seen only fragmentarily on the ground.
ESA also states that the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission relies on
two operational spacecraft, while a
third satellite is planned for launch in 2026. Continuity is key for comparisons over time: changes in vegetation, traces of scorched earth, aerosol estimates, and insight into how smoke behaves under different meteorological conditions. At the same time, such data can also serve after extinguishment, for example in assessing the extent of affected areas or in planning terrain remediation. For the public, such images are often the first tangible proof of the scale of the disaster, especially when fires affect remote or difficult-to-access areas.
From Fires to Air Quality: Copernicus Monitors Smoke Over the Pacific
While Sentinel-3 provides a visual "imprint" of the smoke, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) complements the picture with estimates of emissions and particle transport. CAMS reported that it has been monitoring intense fires in central and southern Chile in recent days and that dry weather, high temperatures, and strong winds have further worsened the situation. According to CAMS, an increase in emissions into the atmosphere has been recorded, and large smoke clouds are being transported over the Pacific. Such monitoring helps understand how smoke spreads beyond the area of immediate disaster and what the potential impact is on the wider area in terms of visibility and air quality. In practice, models and satellite observations can serve as early information about possible deterioration of conditions, especially when smoke lingers over settlements.
This is also important for public health: when smoke lingers over settlements, exposure to fine particles increases, and services generally recommend reducing time spent outdoors, especially for children, the elderly, and the chronically ill. During such periods, the risk of traffic accidents due to poorer visibility also increases, which further burdens emergency services. In the Chilean case, the combination of extreme heat and smoke means that the protection of the population is not reduced only to evacuation from the fire zone, but also to managing consequences in urban areas, where people continue to work, travel, and use public services. In this sense, the "crisis picture" is often broader than the combustion zone itself.
Investigations of Causes and Safety of Services: Emphasis on the Human Factor
In an official statement following the crisis committee meeting on January 20, Minister Elizalde sharply condemned attacks on members of services participating in the response to the crisis. He pointed out that it is unacceptable for firefighters, CONAF brigadists, or members of private brigades to be exposed to violence while performing tasks, and he announced additional security measures to protect volunteers and teams on the ground. Such statements point to an additional layer of complexity in large-scale crises: in addition to fighting the fire, the system must also ensure order and protect people who are saving others. In situations of mass evacuations and high stress, incidents can, according to the experiences of services, happen, but authorities say that this must not become an obstacle to the operational response.
At the same time, messages coming from SENAPRED and CONAF repeat the emphasis on the
human factor as a common trigger for forest fires. Elizalde already warned on January 18 that the system's capacities are not unlimited and that every new fire means a diversion of resources, which is also the reason why citizens are called to responsibility. CONAF, on January 16, in the context of extreme heat forecasts, called on citizens not to burn waste outdoors, to avoid the use of tools that create sparks, and to be particularly careful with open fire outdoors. The message is clear: while the operational system can be reinforced with air and ground forces, part of the risk remains in the hands of citizens and their behavior on critical days. When temperature, wind, and vegetation dryness are at their peak, prevention becomes just as important as intervention.
What Follows: Community Recovery and the "Long" Phase After Extinguishment
As the fire front gradually stabilizes, the issue of reconstruction comes to the fore. Official figures on destroyed houses, damaged schools, and affected health facilities point to a long process of returning to normal, which includes assessing the safety of buildings, restoring the utility network, helping families without a roof over their heads, and remediating affected areas. In such situations, administrative procedures for allocating aid, insurance assessments, and planning temporary solutions for settlements that have suffered the greatest impact are often conducted in parallel. In doing so, damage figures can change as assessments progress, which is also the reason why services avoid "final" assessments until field inspections are completed. For local authorities, this also means the long-term organization of shelters, supplies, and psychosocial support, especially in communities that have suffered losses.
In the meantime, satellite data continues to serve as a "second view" of the event: from mapping smoke and aerosols, through monitoring affected vegetation, to analyzing meteorological conditions that can worsen or facilitate extinguishment. In combination with information from Chilean services, such sources help the public understand the scale of the crisis, but also remind of the fact that the fire season in the southern hemisphere takes place during a period when extreme temperatures and dryness are particularly dangerous. For the affected regions of Ñuble and Biobío, the coming weeks will be a test of recovery capacity, but also an opportunity to further strengthen prevention and preparedness systems from learned lessons. The stakes are high, as every subsequent episode of extreme heat can raise the risk again in the same areas.
Sources:- European Space Agency (ESA) – satellite image and event description “Smoke plumes from Chile wildfires seen by Sentinel-3” ( link )- SENAPRED – official toll and measures after COGRID, January 20, 2026 ( link )- SENAPRED – first toll and force deployment, January 18, 2026 ( link )- SENAPRED / CONAF / DMC – warnings of extreme heat and fire risk, January 16, 2026 ( link )- Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) – monitoring smoke and emissions from fires over the Pacific ( link )- ESA – technical description of Sentinel-3 mission instruments (OLCI: spectral bands and resolution) ( link )
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