In the summer of 2022/2023, Chile was devastated by a wave of wildfires that caused the death of 26 people, destroyed over 1500 houses, and forced a large number of people to evacuate. In response, a contingent of 50 soldiers from the Emergency Military Unit (UME) departed on February 5th from Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base in Madrid to support Chilean authorities, the Army, Firefighters, and other teams from various countries in controlling and extinguishing the fires.
The UME contingent, which was based in the city of Concepción, consisted on a medical team and specialists in technical analysis and advice on Large Conflagration Firefighting (LCIF) matters. For a month, the team collaborated sharing knowledge and protocols with other teams.
Furthermore, in the four wildfires that UME collaborated on, the method of work always followed the same procedure. During the daily planning meetings, an analysis specialist attempted to predict the fire behavior based on factors such as topography, fuel, wind, temperature, and humidity, among others. A communications specialist also made it posible to visualize what was happening through drones and satellite images from the command post. On the ground, the soldiers' daily missions were to defend endangered populations, establish perimetry and direct attacks on the flames using manual tools and hose deployment.
The first wildfire they worked on was the forest fire of Las Toscas, where they experienced the kindness of the local people, who made sure that the soldiers had water and food during the time it took to extinguish the fire. The Omerhuet wildfire was the longest fire to extinguish of the entire mission due to its proximity to the population. For two weeks, with the support of a large number of air resources, it was a constant battle to prevent the fire from entering the Nonguén National Park, even laying out hoses 400 meters long. The soldiers also fought the Los Cortijos wildfire for two days. The steep surface and the many burning spots meant that a large number of helicopters worked without stopping, assisting the contingents working on the ground. However, it was the last of the wildfires, in Santa Ana, that kept the head of the Unit awake for the longest time and generated the most social interest. Close to a thermal power plant that upplied electricity to over a million people, they defended it for a week from San José del Palco, saving houses only with hoses and backpacks and successfully predicting the fire's behavior.
On March 6th, the contingent said goodbye to Chile and returned to Spain, with the warmth of its people in their hearts and the satisfaction of a job well done.
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