Thousands of hectares of forest fires have struck in Chile's southern-central regions, but a regional grower association representative believes the fruit industry may have been spared.

The South American country has been gripped by a spell of extremely hot and dry weather over recent weeks, which has led to a series of major forest fires from the Valparaiso to Maule regions.

Local media report 24,000 hectares of land has been affected and at least three firefighters have died in the blazes.

According to Terra Chile, among the most serious of the fires are one in the Maule region's Las Cardillas area, which has affected 2,730 hectares, and two in the O'Higgins region - in Pumanque and Santa Cruz - which have affected around 16,000 hectares.

Speaking to Fresh Fruit Portal, Ramón Achurra of Frusexta, an association that represents growers and exporters from the O’Higgins region, said it seemed as though fruit production had not been affected.

"The fires have been very big, but they have only been in the hills. As far as I know, in fruit plantations there has not been any damage," he said.

Table grapes and blueberries are among the key crops being harvested in the affected regions, where the apple harvest is not too far away.

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