Forest fires ripped through Chile's Torres del Paine National Park for over a week, leaving many to wonder when it would end. Finally the park was partially re-opened this week.
The fire started in the popular Grey Lake one of the most popular sites of the "W" five day hiking circuit and spread over 13,000 hectares. Strong winds helped the fire blaze at almost 100km/hr, branching out into two directions
Receiving almost 150,000 visitors a year, the fire occurred at the beginning of high season for the site. Many travelers were left stranded as some bus companies in Argentina were not informing people that the park had been closed due to the fire. In addition to visitors and staff that were evacuated from the park, there was a constant influx of people arriving. Backpackers had been praising hostels for allowing the overflow to sleep on couches and floors as they could not camp on the site.
The total area of the national park is over 245,000 acres and the primary reason many come to Patagonia in Chile. In 1978 it was declared a world biosphere zone with its mix of dense forest, glaciers and lakes that remain largely uncontaminated. It is on the bucket list of many adventure travelers and is considered to be some of the best hiking in South America if not the world.
Who is to blame? Tragedy was not only environmental: 162 homes were lost, 75-year-old man died after refusing to leave and six firefighters lost their lives combating the blaze. Accusations have also been pointed at an Israeli tourist who has been charged for negligence, alleging the man did not fully extinguish a toilet paper roll he had been burning. While the tourist could face jail time, the Israeli government may also be looked to for repayment of damage as precedent has already been set in 2005 when the Czech government paid Chile nearly $200,000 after a Czech tourist caused a similar scale fire. Originally it was announced that the park would be closed for the entire month of January; however, like many popular tourist destinations in South America, it is the primary source of income for the region. The area of Puerto Natales depends on this influx of people during the summer and a closing for the month would have affected the businesses that depend on tourism. What areas of the park are open?
While the areas of Refugio Grey and Paine Grande are not open, the Northern areas of Valle France, Los Cuernos were unaffected and are open. The hotels in the National Park have also not been affected as they were in a fortunate area, south of the lakes. What's next The future remains unsure. The focus now is ensure the fire is extinguished and to begin rebuilding.
Many are calling for the reorganization of the park to be based similar to national parks in the United States. Currently you do not need a permit to camp in the park, which makes it very attractive to independent travelers. However, most visitors only see one-tenth of the park. Charging permit fees would help to build infrastructure to support the visitors and ensure proper management of the area.
