A wildfire that tore through a rural stretch of Almería province in southern Spain has killed at least 13 people, including seven Britons, as the country endures extreme summer heat.
The fire broke out late last Thursday near the Sierra de los Filabres, in semi-arid scrubland, and spread with alarming speed in the heat and wind. Spanish authorities say the 13 confirmed dead include seven British nationals, three Belgians, one French citizen, one American and one Spaniard, eight women and five men, all adults, as reported by France 24. Officials cautioned that some victims were being formally identified through forensic analysis.
A fire that moved too fast to outrun
Emergency officials said many of those who died had been caught trying to flee as the flames advanced, some in their vehicles, rather than sheltering in place. The blaze burned across thousands of hectares before crews, helped by cooler and calmer conditions, brought it under control. Around 1,500 residents who had been evacuated were allowed to return home as the fire was declared stabilized earlier this week, according to Euronews.
The exact cause is under investigation, though local officials have pointed to the possibility that the fire was sparked in the tinder-dry landscape during a period of soaring temperatures.
Heatwave across southern Europe
The disaster unfolded during a severe heatwave that has pushed temperatures well above 40C (104F) in parts of southern Spain and strained firefighting resources across the region. Scientists say climate change is making such heatwaves more frequent and intense, and lengthening the wildfire season across the Mediterranean.
Reaction
Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited the affected area and paid tribute to the emergency services, while stressing the need to do more to prevent such disasters. "We must not only react when these fires happen, we must prevent," he said, according to local reporting, linking the growing threat to a warming climate.
The UK's Foreign Office said it was in contact with the Spanish authorities and supporting the families of British nationals caught up in the disaster. With so many foreign visitors and residents among the dead, the fire has drawn attention well beyond Spain, a reminder of the mounting human cost of the extreme heat that has become a feature of European summers.
