SANTIAGO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chile has declared 26 communes in the country's south-central region to be wildfire risk areas as forest fires continue to rage, which have claimed 26 lives and burning 286,198 hectares so far, the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf) said Tuesday.
The communes, or communities, have been placed on "red alert" given the chance of a large fire breaking out, Conaf Executive Director Christian Little said at a press conference.
