‘Part of the family’: Chilean wildfire victims hold out hope for lost pets

Deadly wildfires destroyed whole neighbourhoods in Chile. Now survivors are trying to rebuild — and recover their pets.

Viña del Mar, Chile – Felipe Gajardo, a 27-year-old student, sits in a quiet school hallway in the coastal city of Viña del Mar, with an empty cat carrier by his side. Dozens of flyers with pictures of lost animals plaster the walls around him.

The Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins school is usually closed this time of the year for the summer holidays, which run from December to February in Chile.

But this year, the school is not empty. Instead, its classrooms are a blur of activity, as veterinarians use them to house a makeshift clinic for animals hurt in the country’s deadly wildfires.

More than 130 people have died in the blazes, which sparked on February 3. In three short days, the fires spread over 9,215 hectares (22,773 acres) of densely populated land, reducing neighbourhoods in cities like Viña del Mar to ash.

President Gabriel Boric called it the “greatest tragedy” the country has endured since a 2010 earthquake left more than 500 people dead. The United Nations noted it was likely the country’s deadliest forest fire on record.