ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)<br/> <br />Raging forest fires in central Chile drove residents from their homes and forced authorities to declare a red alert in the area on Saturday.<br/> <br />High temperatures, dry air and strong wind converged to fan the flames as firefighters battled the blaze in Constitucion, located in the Maule region, just south of Santiago.<br/> <br />According to the head of the Fire Management Department of Chile's National Forest Corporation (CONAF), Dante Bravo, crews were fighting 19 fires in the Maule region on Friday (January 3).<br/> <br />According to information issued by Santiago's Catholic University's Center of Toxicology Information, the cloud covering the capital generates a "complex mix of hot air, solid and liquid particles in suspension and toxic gases that contain material extremely dangerous to the health of people and the environment."
