Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has invoked anti-terror legislation after at least six firefighters died in a wildfire authorities said may have been caused by radical indigenous activists.

An unusually hot and dry start to the Chilean summer has seen more than 50 wildfires, fanned by high winds, burn down scores of homes and destroy some 50,000 hectares (123,000 acres) of woodland and brush over the past 10 days.

Authorities suspect several fires that erupted almost simultaneously in the forest regions of Biobio, Maule and Araucania, some 500 to 700 kilometers (310 to 435 miles) south of the capital Santiago, were the work of arsonists.

"We have reliable information that makes us presume there is criminal intent behind these fires," Pinera said Thursday. "I believe that we ought to combat not only the fires, but also the criminals behind the fires."

Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter later hinted that the blazes may have been the work of the Arauco-Malleco Coordination Group (CAM), a fringe group of Mapuche activists that had claimed arson attacks which destroyed a firefighting helicopter and other forestry vehicles on December 30.

"The CAM claims the attack against a forestry helicopter, and soon there are more fires. But the pieces will fall into place in the end, so I don't want to guess," Hinzpeter told TVN television.

Ten firefighters -- private contractors for forestry company Mininco -- were trapped Thursday when the blaze they were tackling in a mountain forest near Carahue in Araucania suddenly changed direction.

"The fire suddenly surrounded them because of the wind, they drew closer together, one against another, and saw the fire pass above them," local governor Miguel Mellado told Canal 13 television.

Six firefighters perished in the flames, two were rescued by helicopter but suffered bad burns, and another is still missing.

The 10th firefighter, Hector Herrera, managed to escape.

"When I wanted to leave, I was unable to do so, I went back and there was fire everywhere. My only option was to go to the canteen and soak myself in water and then go through the flames," he later told the media.

The anti-terror law invoked by Pinera is highly controversial, as it dates back to Augusto Pinochet's 1973-90 dictatorship.

"Clearly, the intentional and criminal character of provoking simultaneous and deliberate fires makes this conduct of a terrorist nature," Pinera said.

The draconian anti-terror law notably allows for steeper punishments, for suspects to be detained longer without charge, and for the use of anonymous witnesses in trials.

It was last invoked in the 2011 trial of indigenous Mapuche activists charged over 2008-2009 clashes in the Araucania region, where they say their ancestral lands have been taken over by forestry companies.

The only casualty from the spate of wildfires up until Thursday was a 75-year-old man who refused to leave his home in the Biobio region.

Last week, a five-day inferno destroyed some 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of the Torres del Paine National Park, a natural wilderness in Patagonia that has been declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.

An Israeli citizen, Rotem Singer, 23, is accused of starting the park blaze accidentally by failing to extinguish a burning roll of toilet paper.

Singer, who faces a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a fine of $300, has been released from police custody but ordered not to leave Chile until an investigation is complete.

Another man was arrested on Wednesday for setting off an incendiary device that possibly caused a small blaze in Biobio.

Pinera has blamed the La Nina weather phenomenon and "global warming" for contributing to drought conditions that helped the fires spread.

Chile blaze claims six firefighters
Santiago (AFP) Jan 5, 2012 - Six Chilean firefighters died Thursday and four were injured tackling one of a series of wildfires that President Sebastian Pinera says were intentionally lit by criminals.

An unusually hot and dry early summer and high winds have seen forest fires ravage large areas of central and southern Chile, burning down scores of homes and destroying some 50,000 hectares (123,000 acres) of woodland and brush.

"We have reliable information that makes us presume there is criminal intent behind these fires," Pinera said. "I believe that we ought to combat not only the fires, but also the criminals behind the fires."

The president, who pledged his government would do everything possible to find those responsible, evoked anti-terror laws that could allow for tougher punishments.

The 10 firefighters, private contractors for forestry company Mininco, were trapped by a blaze raging in a mountainside forest in the Araucania region. A helicopter succeeded in pulling the four injured to safety.

"The fire suddenly surrounded them because of the wind, they drew closer together, one against another, and saw the fire pass above them," local governor Miguel Mellado told Canal 13 television.

"It is most probable that the two survivors were those who were underneath," Mellado said, speaking before Pinera raised the number of survivors to four.

For more than a week firefighting teams have been tackling a series of blazes in Araucania and the neighboring Biobio region, rural areas located some 500 to 700 kilometers (310-435 miles) south of the Chilean capital Santiago.

The only casualty before Thursday was a 75-year-old man who refused to leave his home in the Biobio region.

A five-day inferno in southern Chile's Torres del Paine National Park, a 2,400-square-kilometer (927-square-mile) nature preserve in the Patagonian steppe, was brought under control at the weekend.

An Israeli citizen, Rotem Singer, 23, has denied accidentally starting the huge Torres del Paine fire, which razed some 15,000 hectares of prime parkland, by failing to extinguish a burning roll of toilet paper.

Singer, who faces a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a fine of $300, has been released from police custody but ordered not to leave Chile until an investigation is complete.

Pinera has blamed the La Nina weather phenomenon and "global warming" for contributing to drought conditions that helped the fires spread.

Chile brings fires under control as probe expands
Santiago (AFP) Jan 4, 2012 - Firefighters reported progress Wednesday in bringing under control wildfires in southern Chile that have destroyed about 45,000 hectares (112,000 acres) as a special prosecutor began investigating the source of the blazes.

However, many of the 20 fires continued burning, particularly in the Bio Bio region about 500 kilometers south of Santiago.

Firefighters "are in a process of continuing to suffocate" the remaining fires, Rene Garrido, fire chief of the Bio Bio region's Quillon commune, told local media.

One of the Bio Bio fires killed a 75-year-old man who refused to evacuate his home.

Garrido said tanker airplanes and helicopters that dropped water on the flames helped bring the fires under control.

After the flames were extinguished, firefighters returned to the areas where the fires were most intense to prevent further flare-ups from the current hot weather, drought and high winds.

About 24,800 hectares (62,000 acres) were destroyed in the Bio Bio region, 160 homes burned and 600 people displaced.

In the Maule region, fires that destroyed 6,650 hectares (16,512 acres), burned 30 homes and affected 200 families, also are under control, according to Carlos Bernal, the regional director of Chile's National Emergency Office (Onemi).

Firefighters reported that most outbreaks in the national park Torres del Paine, where the fires started a week ago, were no longer spreading. The fires consumed 14,504 hectares.

The park, which is visited every year by thousands of tourists, was partially reopened to the public Wednesday.

The suspicious nature of the Bio Bio fires is prompting a government investigation, led by prosecutor Julio Contardo.

Eight fires started simultaneously near a plant that is one of the world's largest producers of cellulose. The plant was severely damaged by flames.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a man accused of starting a fire that destroyed nearly 18 acres in the town of Tome.

The man confessed to igniting the flames by mishandling fireworks during New Year celebrations, according to local media reports.

An Israeli citizen, Rotem Singer, 23, is charged with starting the fire in the Torres del Paine park. He is accused of negligently trying to extinguish a burning roll of toilet paper, which he denies.

He was released from police custody but ordered not to leave Chile until an investigation is complete. He faces a maximum penalty of 60 days in jail and a fine of $300.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera blamed the La Nina weather phenomenon and "global warming" for contributing to drought conditions that helped the fires spread.