Chilean firefighters reportedly contained a huge blaze that was threatening the city of Valparaiso, said officials on Sunday.
At least one person died and thousands were evacuated due to the fire, which was threatening a UNESCO World Heritage site, according to the AFP news agency.
“We are keeping the Valparaiso fire contained and so its spread is under control,” Deputy Interior Secretary Mahmud Aleuy told the news agency.
Police will charge the owners of an illegal landfill where the fire originated. The fire started on Friday.
NBC News reported that at least 4,500 people were evacuated from around the area.
Valparaiso is located just west of Santiago, the capital of Chile, and it has a population of around 260,000 people.
“That puts us in a position where, in any situation, a forest fire in the geographic area we have can become a fire of the proportions we had last time,” Ricardo Bravo, the city’s mayor, told AFP.
