December 28, 2011. Torres del Paine Wildfire.

A wildfire forced evacuation of around 100 trekkers in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile including myself. Personally it was heartbreaking to see what I had just hiked and camped along go up in smoke. It was some of the most pristine and beautiful parks I have been to, and was disturbed to see it go up in flames. There is no official word on how the fire started, though being around park officials and others close to the scene, it sounds as though it was due to either an illegal bonfire or gas stove. If so, this may end up being similar to the 2005 Torres del Paine wildfire, where a man sparked a fire with a gas stove that destroyed 100 square miles of the park. I truly hope it doesn’t end up being that large, though with high winds, helicopters have been unable to reach the park, and with the remote location of the park, other methods of containment pose great challenges. I will be posting other images of the fire soon. © PBBPhoto