Chairlift Catches Fire at Chilean Ski Area
As winter continues to hammer mountains in South America, one ski area got a little bit of heat, but not the kind you want. One of the main chairlifts at Chilean Ski Resort, La Parva, caught fire on Saturday, July 18, 2026.
Videos showed flames roaring inside the main lift terminal of Alpha Chair.
Reports from the Chilean Police indicated that a plastic pipe had come into contact with the lift’s motor exhaust pipe, causing the fire to start. Luckily, the fire was completely extinguished, and no one was injured. The lift reopened in the following days.
You can see the full video here, or below.
Like much of South America, La Parva has been experiencing a stormy cycle. Over the last week, the ski area has seen 41cm of snow (16 inches), bringing its seasonal total to 218cm (85 inches) since opening on June 30th. Over the next five days, forecasts call for up to 34 more inches of snow, with another 29 inches in the following five days.
Sitting in the Chilean Andes, La Parva is part of Chile’s Tres Valles, along with neighboring resorts Valle Nevado and El Colorado. Both La Parva and Valle Nevada are owned by Mountain Capital Partners, which had also submitted a proposal to purchase El Colorado in July of 2025. El Colorado is owned by Chilean resort operator Andacor, which also owns Pillán and Volcán Osorno, in southern Chile, and was included in the proposed transaction.
However, just a few days ago, MCP withdrew its proposal after Chile’s National Economic Prosecutor’s Office conducted an antitrust review and determined that the deal would require certain structural remedies, including the sale of one of the Tres Valles resorts to a third party. MCP will retain ownership and operation of Valle Nevado and La Parva.
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