After doing the day hikes in El Chalten, I was ready to take it a step further and complete the full circuit in Torres del Paine.  I was planning to carry in my food and tent and stay in the camp sites, attempting to finish in 7 days.

I never got that chance.

Much of Torres del Paine has burned to the ground.

I spent five days in Puerto Natales, the nearest city to the park where backpackers come to prepare for the trek.

I warn you this is a long post, and I hope you will read it in full.

There are many aspects about this situation that absolutely infuriate me, and I want to share pieces of the story (including photos) that I do not believe have been published in the traditional media.

This post is about my experience with the locals, the guides, and the travelers.

It was emotionally draining.

It was chaotic.

People were worried, confused, sad, and angry.

People went above and beyond to help in any way they could.

Friends comforted each other.

The Fire

The fire started on a Tuesday evening.  I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and went to the 3pm free Torres del Paine information session hosted at Erratic Rock where I also planned to rent my camping gear.  Very little information was being provided by CONAF, the organization that governs/ manages the national parks in Chile.

We were told that the fire was on the west side of the park near Lago Grey, and it was still okay to go in the park and hike everywhere else.  I decided to wait it out another day and see if the situation was improving or deteriorating.

Unfortunately, it continued to get worse and quickly.

On Thursday, park officials said it was still safe to go in the park even though the fire had spread further.  The French Valley was now closed.  At the 3pm Erratic Rock information session, a local guide showed up and pleaded with people to not enter the park.  He had just come from helping park officials fight the fires and told us that the situation was completely out of control and continuing to get worse.

Yet the park remained open to continue taking people’s entrance fees.

The park was officially closed on Friday because the fire continued to spread rapidly.  It was nowhere near being controlled.

The Story from the First Responder

I will never forget meeting Felipe.

He was dirty and had scratches on his face.  I have never seen someone look so exhausted.

Felipe is a guide and was leading a trekking tour of the park when the fire started.  He came to my hostel looking for a place to sleep after a very long and stressful couple of days.  He was the first person to discover the fire in Torres del Paine when it only covered 10-15 meters and was still possible to control.

The story he told is incredible.

On Tuesday around 5:30pm, he saw the fire on the west side of the park between the beach and the mirador.   He sent two people to the refugio to report the fire and summon help.  Knowing some techniques to fight a forest fire, he did what he could to dig trenches and utilize controlled-burn techniques.

After a couple of hours, two other people came to help him.  They toiled alone for hours before any help from park officials arrived.

“If we had 4 people at the beginning, we could have formed a brigade.  I did everything I could.

Nobody from CONAF arrived until almost midnight.

I saw the fire cross the river and go up the mountain.  It was the beginning of a fucking tragedy.

I was always one step behind the fire.  CONAF was always one step behind me.

We were told to come back quickly to Paine Grande to be evacuated.  I saw a huge curtain of smoke.  The refugio burned, and we lost tents, luggage, everything.  We slept in Cuernos on the floor like refugees.”

The Evacuees

Beginning Wednesday, people who had been evacuated from the park started showing up at my hostel.

Their stories were also incredible.

They talked about the complete lack of information at the refugio where they were awaiting evacuation.  What little information did get shared was only in Spanish.  Other travelers helped to disburse the information in other languages.

Some travelers decided they were not going to wait any longer and walked down to Lago Grey against instruction from the refugio staff.  When they got to the lake, they discovered that the only evacuation method was a tourist boat… which had brought a full load of tourists.

While the fire continued to grow, this boat actually did the full tour of the lake and the glacier, and THEN it stopped to pick up a few stranded backpackers.  Not many could fit of course, since the boat was full of tourists.

The worst part of all….

The boat was actually CHARGING evacuees US$70 for the ride!!  

This sign was posted in the refugio.

I was shocked when they told me the story.  I was infuriated when I saw the photographic proof.

Photos of the fire from the boat.

Unfortunately, I did not get the contact information for the Aussie couple who shared these photos with me.

The People of Puerto Natales Protest

On Friday, there was a gathering of locals in the central plaza of Puerto Natales.  I was not sure what to expect.  What I discovered was a very upset community.

They wanted answers.

A government-appointed official, responsible for things at a provincial level, was there to answer the questions.

His answers were not well-received.

In many cases, he did not have an answer.

Why are there so few firefighters in the park after 3 days of it burning?

With all the money that the park earns, what has the government done?

The park has already burned.  This affects jobs in the whole region, the whole country.  What is the solution?

What Went Wrong

From talking to locals, I get the impression that although it was the ignorance of tourists that caused the fire, the responsibility is on the government of Chile.  There have been two other fires in the past decade in Torres del Paine, yet somehow no lessons were learned.

Here are what I heard to be the main complaints:

No education on park safety.

Unlike entering El Chalten in Argentina, there is no mandatory information stop on the way into Torres del Paine to educate backpackers on safe hiking/ camping practices (i.e. never start a fire, how to safely use a camping stove).

The entire fire department system in Chile is voluntary.

Since all firefighters are voluntary, there just are not that many.  There are certainly not enough in the vicinity to react quickly.  There seems to be very little training on how to fight forest fires.

According to travelers in the park, they saw a small crew of firefighters arrive by boat on the second day of the fire.  They were very young and seemed to not know what to do with the equipment they were carrying.  They were even taking pictures of themselves.

There is no emergency plan for the park.

There seems to be no plan as to how to react to a fire, including how to evacuate the park.  I left Puerto Natales on the 6^th day the fire was raging, and there were STILL tourists inside the park.

Communication both within the park and outside the park was terrible.

The government did not want to admit the problem was too big to handle.

When the last fire occurred, I was told that Chile waited a long time to ask for (or even allow) help from other countries.  Argentina sent in many firefighters and helped bring the last fire under control.

The same thing happened this time.

Only 1% of the entry fees collected by the park actually get invested into the park.

I learned this from a guide, so it may not be exact, but the point is clear.  The government routes the money elsewhere instead of investing in tourist education, fire training, and emergency plans.

What Now?

Felipe and another local guide Mauricio were the first people who made me realize how tragic this event is and how devastating the impacts could be to this region.

Torres del Paine is the crown jewel of tourism in Chile (and arguably South America).  The majority of tourists that come to southern Chile have a main goal of hiking Torres del Paine.  Of course they do other things, visit other areas, and take other tours, but it is certain that ALL tourism will suffer for years to come.

Even if the trails, campsites, and refugios get re-built, it will be generations before the beauty of the park returns to its previous state.

The tourism season is only late December through April in this part of the world.  This happened at the very start of the season.

What Can We Do To Help?

We can help by encouraging people to visit this area.

I have had an incredible time in Patagonia.  Because of the fire in Torres del Paine, I have learned about other great activities to do in this part of Chile.  A local tourism company in Punta Arenas has worked with the community to create a list of all of the options that exist in the area outside of Torres del Paine.

Take a look at the descriptions and photos of the activities and pass on the info to anyone who might be interested.

Contact Turismo Aonikenk to set up tours in the area.

You can also still visit Torres del Paine.

Note that this is the most current information I have as of the beginning of February.  So be sure to check for the latest info if you are visiting the park later in the season.

Most of the park is still open.

Note that as of now, you CANNOT camp in Paine Grande, Italiano, or Britanico.  It is not recommended to do the pass from Grey to Paine Grande because it is full of ashes.  However, that really is a small section of the full circuit.

So here are a couple of good options for travelers who want to visit the park:

• Go to the Erratic Rock 3pm information session (held everyday) to get all the info you need to enter the park on your own.  They will tell you the route options and give you all kinds of tips, including how to dress, accommodations options in the park, trekking food, and even how to see the best sunrise of your life.
• There is a section of the park that requires a guide because of the fire damage.   If you want to see the full park, check out this package tour that includes a local guide.

What I Want You To Do

I did not get to see the beauty of Torres del Paine, but I definitely plan to return another day.  If you have visited the park, please share a link to any photos or a blog post you wrote about the experience on my Facebook Fan Page.

If you have visited any other great spots in this part of Chile, please share a link to any photos or a blog post you wrote about the experience on my Facebook Fan Page.

I will then edit this post to include all of your great experiences and photos.

If you made it to the end of this post, I do appreciate you sticking with me

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UPDATE:  Great Articles and Photos from the Travel Community

The travel community came through as expected.  Here are some great articles and photos from Chilean Patagonia.

100 Miles Highway

Katherina explored A LOT of Chilean Patagonia, and I chose three of her articles to highlight here.

Katherina had incredible weather and got some great photos of the beautiful French Valley in Torres del Paine.

Read the post and see the photos here.

She also took an expedition cruise from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas and got to explore Cape Horn, one of the most dangerous nautical passages in the world.

Read the article and check out the photos here.  

Katherina’s photos of penguins at Isla Magdalena made me jealous even though I saw them for myself in Puerto Madryn,

Read the article and check out the photos here.

Emily in Chile

I loved Emily’s post on a delicious and creative restaurant in Puerto Natales.  Food should always be a travel priority

Read the post and see the photos here.

Emily’s visit to Torres del Paine was different than most I have read about.  She and her husband had a rental car and did some hiking and some driving through the park.  I really like this post because it shows a different experience from most.

Read the post and see the photos here.

LL World Tour

Lisa did something I wish I could have made work when I was in Puerto Natales.  She took the Navimag boat to the bottom of the world.

Read the post and see the photos here: 

After arriving in Puerto Natales, Lisa headed to Torres del Paine.  Although plagued with transportation issues, she got to see what she came to see.

Read the post and see the photos here:  

Quiet Wanderings

Cherina visited Torres del Paine prior to having her blog Quiet Wanderings, but she was nice enough to dig up her photos and scan them for me to share here.