Madrid: One of Spain’s deadliest wildfires on record killed 12 people overnight into Friday, authorities said, as soaring temperatures grip much of the country.
Several victims of the fire in the southern province of Almeria, a popular holiday destination, were found inside burnt-out vehicles and were thought to have died while trying to flee the flames.
Eight people have been injured and a further 23 are unaccounted for, Andalusia’s regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said. Some 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain’s military emergency unit were battling the blaze, which has consumed more than 3,200 hectares of forest and farmland.
Regional emergency authorities said four British nationals and other unspecified foreign nationals appeared to be among the dead. The fire broke out in a hamlet in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains. Authorities have not confirmed the cause, but said people who called to report the fire said that a fallen power line had sparked a blaze that spread rapidly into a nearby forest.
Most of the victims died while attempting to flee and ignored shelter-in-place instructions, said Antonio Sanz, president of Andalusia’s emergency services. One group did so via a dry riverbed, which “turned into a death trap,” he said.
Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars, Sanz said, likely looking for a way out.
“The consequences have been terrible. Everything seems to indicate that, in the case of the deceased … We are dealing for the most part, if not entirely, with foreign nationals,” Sanz said.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his condolences. “Immense sadness and desolation in the face of the terrible consequences of the fire affecting the province of Almeria,” he wrote on X. Spain has battled frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, with temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Wind, high temperatures and little rainfall help small wildfires grow into unchecked blazes.
In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths attributed to heat.
Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing several intense heat waves across Europe.
France is experiencing the peak of its third heatwave of the summer, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius across western and central areas and around 37 degrees Celsius in Paris.
French authorities have also warned of a very high wildfire risk, as large fires in the south have already scorched thousands of hectares this week, disrupted the Tour de France cycling race and stretching firefighting resources.
The largest wildfire, which broke out in the eastern Pyrenees, near the Spanish border, has decreased in intensity, authorities said Friday. It burned about 5,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from nearly villages, who have since been allowed to return home.
Scientists warn that climate change caused in part by the burning of fuels like gasoline, oil and coal is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making certain regions more vulnerable to wildfires.
