Abstract

Chile is a country of disasters because, due to its geographic characteristics, it is often devastated by earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and volcanic eruptions. These recurrent natural catastrophes have conditioned the urban development of several cities, generating a constant destruction of the built heritage. In response to this challenge, authorities have introduced regulatory instruments, oriented basically by the country's seismic conditions. Other types of disasters, e.g. fire, constitute a serious threat to cities, including areas of maximum cultural value such as the Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso, protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This situation has worsened in recent years as a result of large fires that typically start in the urban-rural fringe and advance towards the city hills. Our work focuses on the risk analysis as well as the consequences that this kind of fires entail for the conservation of the patrimonial area of Valparaiso.