QUILPUÉ, Chile — Heading up the hill, on the way to the neighborhood, everything looked black.

On one side of the road, the charred remains of houses and the skeletons of trees. Beyond, the smoking husk of Chile’s national botanical garden. The air still carried the acrid smell of the historic wildfires that left at least 131 people dead, destroyed thousands of homes in the seaside Valparaíso region and plunged the Andean nation into mourning.

But at the crest of the hill, there was a stunning sight. In this desert of ash and soot, an oasis.

The neighborhood of Botania gleamed upon the hilltop, its neat rows of brightly painted houses undamaged. Cars sat undisturbed on its ash-free roads.


That this community of 80 or so houses somehow emerged unscathed from what have been called the deadliest fires in Chilean history has generated viral social media posts and headlines of disbelief and awe this past week.


“Incredible!” said El Reporte Diario.

“WHAT IS THE REASON?” asked CHV Noticias.

The story of how Botania was saved when so much else was lost at once points to possible solutions and preventive measures in a country and world dealing with increasingly devastating wildfires, while also revealing the stubborn social inequalities that often exacerbate such disasters.

Massive wildfires are a new threat to Chile. Here’s why they’re so deadly.

Botania owes its escape to the disciplined execution of a fire prevention plan crafted by Chilean forestry officials and a local nongovernmental organization, with support from the U.S. government. For months, with more than $20,000 in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, community leaders had bought supplies and prepared for the next big fire.

“With tools and with training, good things can happen,” said Tim Callaghan, a senior USAID official. “And this is clearly a success.”


But as the fires spread this month, ultimately consuming as many as 6,000 houses and sending thousands into homelessness, the plan and training that would be so successful in Botania was not available in many of the communities that turned out to need it most.


Botania

Villa Independencia

JAN. 14

FEB. 7

Burned areas in black or gray

Unburned

vegetation in red

Source: Maxar Technologies

Where the fires were most destructive
Officials estimate that 70 percent of the region’s destroyed homes were concentrated in irregular settlements called “tomas ilegales.” The conditions in many of the settlements were so combustible — improper forest management, trash-strewn streets, houses built with cheap, flammable materials — that whole communities burned in a matter of minutes.

It was a tragic reminder of Chile’s failure to solve its ongoing housing crisis. In recent years, rising rents, coupled with stagnant incomes and the long shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, have placed standardized housing out of reach for tens of thousands of people. Many have ended up in the tomas ilegales.

The proliferation of the settlements has coincided with a sharp escalation in forest fires. Authorities believe this month’s blazes were started intentionally. But scientists say what sped the fires’ spread was a volatile combination of drought, climate change and El Niño. Three times more land in Chile burned in the past decade than in the one before, noted a study in the journal Scientific Reports.


It took less than 10 minutes for wildfires to destroy the Villa Independencia neighborhood this month. (Esteban Felix/AP)
The fires of recent years have been particularly intense in central Chile, where the region of Valparaíso, popular with tourists, has been remade by the irregular enclaves. Roughly one-fourth of all of the country’s tomas ilegales are found along its slopes and hills, housing more than 30,000 people, according to a national survey.

Some of the settlements are more established, with running water and electricity. Others are little more than a collection of wooden shacks. The unpaved roads are strewn with debris. Flammable brush is everywhere. Most are beyond the reach of state services.

Sebastián Todd Navarro has lived all of his 25 years inside one such community, Villa Independencia, situated above a bustling commercial hub. He has rarely felt the support of the state. Cut off from city lines, his family for years had to get water and electricity informally.

He discerned state neglect again on the afternoon of Feb. 2. The city has a fire warning system. Yet Navarro said the first sign of danger was not his phone buzzing, but the blaze spreading below.

“A sight I can never forget,” he said.


Sebastián Todd Navarro stands next to the remains of his home after wildfires tore through Villa Independencia. (Yasna Mussa for The Washington Post)
It raced up the hill, exploiting all of the brush and trash left throughout the community. The wooden shacks exploded into flames.


Navarro said he drove down the hill to safety. By the time he made it, his community had virtually disappeared. It had taken less than 10 minutes, according to news reports.


Share this article
Share
When Navarro returned, he found bodies everywhere. For days, he said, the corpses remained. People covered them in metal cans to keep the dogs from feeding on them, while waiting for state workers to come help take them away.


A firebreak installed around Botania helped protect the neighborhood from the deadly wildfires. (Yasna Mussa for The Washington Post)
‘We could no longer be spectators’
Neglect was not the story of Botania, whose path toward salvation began in late 2022, with another fire. That blaze burned through the nearby botanical garden, which housed some of the world’s rarest tree species, charring nearly 10 acres.

Its proximity to Botania, a middle-class neighborhood built atop an isolated hilltop and surrounded by combustible brush, terrified residents.


“We could no longer be spectators,” resident Cecilia Cisternas said.

Just then, Quilpué city officials asked if the neighborhood wanted to be part of a new pilot project. The city had identified Botania as one of the most vulnerable communities, and this project was a way to start preparing for the next fire. Botania residents quickly agreed.

The initiative was led by a local NGO, Caritas Chile, which had partnered with Chilean forest officials and received a grant from USAID in 2022 to train communities on fire prevention strategies. The new program launched in 14 neighborhoods, encompassing more than 12,000 people. The irregular settlements were intentionally left out.

“Unfortunately, the reality of the settlements is complex,” said Quilpué Mayor Valeria Melipillán. “They are almost all in areas of risk, prone to fires, flooding and mass removal — places where no regulated construction would be possible, making it very complex to establish adequate prevention plans there.”


A spokesperson with USAID said the organization wants to broaden the program to include more vulnerable communities. “While the informal settlements were not included in the first phase of this program,” the spokesperson said, “conversations are ongoing about how to incorporate additional at-risk communities in future phases.”

For Botania, Chilean forestry officers produced a risk report to determine the greatest fire risks and coached residents on how to address them.

“The plan was simple,” said Simón Berti, the president of Chile’s forestry engineer association. “Eliminate all vegetation near the houses. Cut down trees, clear out all dried pastureland.”

Botania residents plunged themselves into the arcana of forest fire prevention.

“I don’t work in forestry,” said Rodrigo Vargas, president of the community fire prevention organization. “I’m just another resident. We had to learn everything from scratch to get a hold on the basic concepts.”


They cleaved a wide path around the community, removing all debris to create a firebreak. They held weekly planning sessions and installed a command center equipped with an electric generator and walkie-talkies. They regularly cleared the surrounding area of all potentially flammable materials, cutting back trees and retrieving trash. They learned to use water sprayers to soak the ground to slow the advance of the flames.

Then time ran out for preparations. The fire had arrived.


The Chilean neighborhood that didn't burn
0:26

Deadly wildfires in Chile have killed at least 112 people and devastated communities. The neighborhood Botania remained untouched. (Video: Sebastián Helena)
Relief, happiness — then sorrow
As people began to evacuate, Vargas became convinced all of their preparations had been for nothing. This inferno was unlike any he’d ever seen.

“The force of the fire,” he said. “Its violence.”

He made it to safety below, where he waited for any information on what had happened in Botania. Finally, a message from a neighbor: Botania still stood. It hadn’t burned.


Vargas didn’t believe it. The neighbor had to have been mistaken. Vargas waited until the flames died down. Then he climbed the hill on foot until he reached its zenith.

“It was one of the most beautiful things,” he said. “It was still there.”

None of the houses had been damaged.

The relief and joy he felt, however, quickly gave way to sorrow. He took a moment to absorb the view from the neighborhood. There was little but a black sea of ash.

His Botania was all that had survived.

McCoy reported from Rio de Janeiro. Marina Dias in Brasília contributed to this report.

CORRECTION
A previous version of this story said 10 people had been arrested. Those arrests were in connection with a previous fire. The story has been updated.


Share

100
Comments

By Terrence McCoy

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a company's voluntary recall of batches of both cat and dog food after random sample testing detected the presence of salmonella and listeria.

Viva Raw, a company that produces USDA-approved raw pet food for cats and dogs, confirmed the voluntary recall in a statement published on the company website. Three duck recipe products have been recalled: Viva Duck for Dogs (ground), Viva Duck for Dogs (chunked) and Viva Pure Duck (for cats and dogs). Newsweek has contacted Viva Raw for comment by email.


Flatiron School
The affected products come from Lot 22853, which was first shipped on October 24, 2023, with the last of this lot distributed on December 6, 2023. Sold in the form of frozen 1-pound brick of food presented in clear vacuum packaging, this particular lot was shipped to more than 1,500 customers. At the time of writing, Viva Raw said it has received only one complaint related to the lot.
In a letter to customers, Viva Raw co-founders Jenn Wu and Zach Ao said: "The health of your pet has always been Viva's #1 priority and we have always been committed to making safe & transparent pet food. We started this company to change the industry and make the best pet food available."

The co-founders added: "We have conducted a detailed root-cause analysis in our USDA facility to ensure we continue to exceed the highest industry food safety standards & will continue to push the boundaries for how safe, fresh pet food is made."

Related video: Salmonella cases on the rise in the US (KOAT Albuquerque)
The cases connected to a recall on charcuterie meets now.
KOAT Albuquerque
Salmonella cases on the rise in the US
Anyone with products from the lot is being asked to complete an online response form. Viva will then reach out to provide a full refund. The company is also asking that customers affected ensure they destroy the food "in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access."

"Make sure you do not touch the contaminated food product with your bare hands. While wearing gloves or using paper towels, place the contaminated food in a sealed plastic bag and throw it in the garbage," the company said. "Then you will need to sanitize your kitchen and any other area that may have come in contact with the contaminated product."

Anyone concerned that their pet may have been infected with salmonella or listeria should look out for the key symptoms, which include lethargy, fever, vomiting, diarrhea and bloody diarrhea.

In some cases, pets may exhibit signs of decreased appetite, fever, and abdominal pain. Not every pet infected with either will exhibit symptoms but could pose a risk as carriers capable of infecting other animals or humans. Anyone with a pet who has consumed the recalled pet food should contact their veterinarian if they have any concerns.


Although salmonella and listeria monocytogenes are capable of directly affecting the animals eating the products, it also presents a risk to humans handling them. Anyone concerned they may have become infected with salmonella should look out for the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.

In rare cases, salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Anyone experiencing signs of any of these conditions after handling the product is advised to contact their healthcare provider.

The simplest and most-effective way for pet owners to ensure they do not become infected is by thoroughly washing their hands after handling pet products and disinfecting any surfaces exposed to them.

Hello all,
Wondering if anyone knows where I can find Rx steroid cream/ointment “Topicort” is brand name. Generic med is desoximetasoneet  .

Thank you!!

Read on blog or Reader
Site logo image ScamicideScam of the day – February 9, 2024 – Mystery Shopper Scams

Steven Weisman, Esq.

February 8

I have written many times over the last twelve years about the mystery shopper scam because it continues to ensnare unwary victims. Unfortunately, these scams continue to be effective and are increasing in number so it is important to remind you about them again. Mystery shoppers are people hired to shop at a particular store and report on the shopping experience for purposes of quality control. Unlike many scams, there actually are legitimate mystery shopper companies, but they never advertise or recruit through emails, text messages or letters.

The manner in which the scam generally works is that when you answer an advertisement, or respond to a letter, email or a text message to become a mystery shopper, you are sent a bank check. You deposit the check into your own account and spend some of the money on the goods that you purchase which you are allowed to keep and also are directed to keep some of the balance of the check as payment for your services. You are instructed to return the remaining funds by a wire transfer.

In a recent Walmart themed mystery shopper scam, the targeted victim was sent a legitimate appearing, but counterfeit check for $2,940 and told to keep $540 as payment and then go to the nearest Walmart and use the remainder of the check to buy six $400 Kroger gift cards and provide the numbers to the scammer. The scam victim was then told to keep the gift cards for their next assignment although there never is another assignment and the scammers use the numbers on the Kroger gift cards to make purchases, making the actual cards worthless. The victim of the scam loses the $2,400 used to purchase the gift cards from the victim's own bank account when the check bounces.

TIPS

One reason why this scam fools so many people is that there really are mystery shopping jobs although the actual number is quite few and the companies that do mystery shopping do not go looking for you. A firm indication that you are involved with a scam is when you receive a check for more than what is owed you and you are asked to wire the difference back to the sender. This is the basis of many scams. Whenever you receive a check, wait for your bank to tell you that the check has fully cleared before you consider the funds as actually being in your account. Don't rely on provisional credit which is given after a few days, but which will be rescinded once a check bounces and never accept a check for more than what is owed with the intention to send back the rest. That is always a scam. Also be wary whenever you are asked to wire funds or send gift cards because this is a common theme in many scams because it is difficult to trace and impossible to stop. Legitimate companies do not use gift cards as payments.

For more information about legitimate mystery shoppers, you can go to the website of the Mystery Shopping Professional Association https://www.mspa-americas.org/scam-alerts/

If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive free daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is to go to the bottom of the initial page of http://www.scamicide.com and type in your email address where it states "Sign up for this blog."

i just can read snippets there. but some are having trouble with packages being nabbed coming into NY.

be careful all.

just be careful. i read in open of pr forum that many vendors are suddenly not delivering.

they speculated a pangea in the Us WAS going on.

its in the open at pr if u want to read it.

damn depressing.

Pain Undeserved
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬
[28] And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
There are certain experiences that are completely out of our hands.
Right at the top of the list is the pain we experience from family.
We have absolutely no say in where or to whom we are born; it is completely at God’s discretion.
Were you loved and doted over or were you battered and broken by the pain of abuse?
While positive childhood experiences can give wings to one’s future, negative experiences can often cripple a child.
There are also others who, though were not born into abusive circles, enter into painful experiences as life unfolds.
For instance, when one enters a marriage or relationship where physical or emotional abuse occurs.
Perhaps your spouse turned out to be a struggling alcoholic or cheated on you, or some other circumstances resulted in a separation and possibly a divorce.
These experiences are very painful and can haunt you for the rest of your life.
So what do you do when life deals you a bad hand?
Joseph is an example of a person born into both favor and disfavor.
He didn’t do anything to deserve his father’s love, neither did he do anything that deserved the hatred of his brothers.
Yet, thanks to his brothers’ jealousy, for 13 years Joseph lived as a slave and a felon.
It appeared on the face of it that he had sufficient reason to curse God, but he didn’t.
He chose to trust God and believe His promises.
When it seemed like he was nothing but a middle-aged slave, his life took a sharp turn for the better and he became the Prime Minister of Egypt.
When Joseph had the opportunity to get back at his brothers, he didn’t.
Instead, he understood that God allowed the pain for a purpose.
Without him going to Egypt and rising to such a position of authority, the Israelites may not have survived the famine.
It is with this understanding that Joseph was able to forgive his brothers and embrace both his past and future.
It is time to stop living in regret concerning the circumstances of your birth.
You may be orphaned, poor, abandoned, disabled, or maltreated.
People may have cursed and despised you for circumstances beyond your control.
A spouse who promised you a happily ever after left you with a broken heart and a trial of betrayal, secrets, deception and lies.
God still has a plan for your life.
Can you believe that through it all, God has been positioning you for greatness?
He has.
You may not understand it today but be assured that in God, your tomorrow will be triumphant.

https://iopreviewer.com/forums/forum/index/

fake.

including a friend of mine whom passed in 2018.

Reply To: Amphetamines and ritalin tolerance
2 weeks, 1 day ago

Saoirse Saoirse

Yeah, as she is dead for awhile now, she aint posting for amphetamines.

You scum. u took all the names from this forum and put them up. As though u had all these people posting recently.

Yeah, i doubt Saoirse is posting from heaven.

She has better things to do now.

I only found this one "forum" and so far it is Pharmacy reviewer names.