Chilean President Gabriel Boric declared a state of catastrophe in two regions in the south of the country on Sunday as raging wildfires forced at least 20,000 people to evacuate and left at least 18 people dead.

Wildfires that have killed 19 people in southern Chile and wiped out entire towns, raged for a third day Monday, fanned by high temperatures and strong winds at the height of the southern hemisphere summer.

Jose Antonio Kast won Chile's presidential election on Sunday, leveraging voter fears over rising crime and migration to steer the