The Biobío region leads in the number of events and the area affected by wildfires. Between 2018 and 2023, more than twelve thousand fires were reported, representing 34% of the national total during that period. Additionally, 27% of the population in the Greater Concepción metropolitan area lives in areas with high or very high fire density.La región del Biobío lidera en cantidad de eventos y superficie afectada por incendios forestales. Entre 2018 y 2023 se reportaron más de doce mil siniestros, lo que representó un 34% del total nacional en ese período. Además, el 27% de la población del área metropolitana del Gran Concepción vive en zonas de alta o muy alta densidad de incendios.
This explains the unprecedented collaboration agreement between the Concepción Fire Department and City Lab Biobío—a city science laboratory that studies urban phenomena through data analysis and technology developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This partnership will strengthen the technological capabilities and information analysis of the platforms used by firefighters.
Through the Fire Department’s Viper platform, data will be examined from the initial emergency phase to statistics on fire management and operations. From an urban perspective, this will enable better characterization of the territory and the spatial patterns of emergencies, facilitating the identification of high-frequency fire areas and optimizing resource planning. The integration of geospatial data—such as population density, critical infrastructure, and road networks—will improve response times and enhance the design of more effective prevention and action strategies.
The agreement was signed at the Seventh Fire Company, where the Superintendent of the Concepción Fire Department, Werner Hohf, highlighted the strengthened emergency response made possible by this alliance. “This will allow us to incorporate more technology into our work, which we already carry out with great professionalism, and now with science. It will be an additional support for decision-making, especially when providing assistance to other municipalities in fighting wildfires—times when those decisions must be made very quickly, requiring as much available information as possible.”
City Lab Biobío will also contribute to updating territorial information, which is essential for quantifying homes and populations in urban-rural interface zones that have experienced explosive growth in recent years, often in areas highly vulnerable to wildfires. This will enable a more detailed analysis of risk factors and the identification of strategic points for prevention and mitigation infrastructure.
“Many territorial decisions involve long-term planning, but others are short-term with a direct impact on people’s lives. That’s why the goal is to strengthen the technological information platforms that firefighters already use, particularly in response to the growing need for data in urban-rural interface zones,” said Martín Andrade, Executive Director of Corporación Ciudades.
The collaboration with the Fire Department will also help identify suitable locations along the Biobío River within the municipality of Concepción for fire trucks to collect water. This will involve analyzing multiple variables, from topography to the availability of space that facilitates access for large emergency vehicles.
“The strength of initiatives like this is that they allow for the systematic and intelligent use of available information to prevent and plan for the future. We know that new fires will occur, and planning enables us to respond more effectively to declared disasters. At the same time, from an urban development perspective, it helps ensure the necessary logistics for those combating these events,” concluded Álvaro Rojas, Chief of the Planning and Regional Development Division of Gore Biobío.
Satellite image analysis confirmed that the 2022-2023 wildfire season was one of the most catastrophic of the last decade, with 181,796 hectares burned in 1,978 fires at the regional level. This damage accounted for 42% of the total burned area nationwide during that season.
