October 1, 2026
BEDAR, Spain (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters backed by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft struggled on Saturday to contain one of Spain's deadliest wildfires that erupted earlier this week and killed at least 12 people.
The blazes, which also lashed France this week, came as parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks.
In Spain's Andalusia, a combination of light winds and high humidity is helping crews, but the sheer size of the fire still poses challenges, Antonio Sanz, head of the region's emergency services, said. The fire has so far scorched some 25 square miles of forest and farmland — about the size of Manhattan.
Sanz said fire crews carried out controlled burns overnight around the perimeter of the fire, which broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almería province.
Favorable weather conditions were expected into Sunday, which could help firefighting efforts, Spain's official EFE news agency reported. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said nearly all homes on the fire front's perimeter were undamaged.
Most of the victims, who are believed to be foreign nationals, died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, authorities said. Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars.
Four of the dead were believed to be British because the steering wheel of their burned-out car was on the right side, as with British vehicles, regional authorities said.
Sanz said Saturday that authorities had completed autopsies and DNA samples were collected to identify them.
Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has spoken with his counterparts from the U.K., Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands about the fire, EFE reported. Almería is home to one of the largest communities of foreign nationals in Andalusia.
Authorities proactively evacuated 1,448 people from some 11 areas.
Jeffrey Kember and his wife, Christine, were watching a favorite TV show in their Los Pinos farmhouse when the blare of a siren alerted them to the fire. The couple jumped into their respective cars while also trying to help a neighbor with two toddlers.
The husband described how they got separated and how he was unable to speak to his wife because she didn't have a phone with her.
“I'm driving through the flames. It was actually flames. I thought, ‘I can’t stop, I just gotta go,” he told The Associated Press, his wife now next to him outside an evacuation center. "It was eerie because all of a sudden I came out of the flames, and it was all bright sunshine. It was like surreal.”
Meanwhile, Spanish authorities arrested two people for ignoring evacuation orders and returning to a high-risk area, according to EFE. Authorities are still combing through the Bédar area in search of any victims.
Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Wind, high temperatures, and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.
Spain’s Meteorological Agency warned that the wildfire risk over the weekend will remain very high.
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