Spain battles deadly wildfires as death toll reaches 12 in one of country's worst blazes

Hundreds of firefighters backed by helicopters and aircraft are struggling to contain one of Spain's deadliest wildfires in the southern Almería province.

The wildfire has taken the lives of at least 12 people and scorched 66 square kilometres (25 square miles) of forest and farmlands.

This area is roughly equivalent to the size of Manhattan.

This fire, which started late Thursday near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains amid an ongoing heat wave, led to the evacuation of 1,448 individuals from eleven different places. 

According to reports, most of the victims, who were foreign nationals, succumbed to death owing to the fact that they had not followed the “shelter-in-place” instructions. While seven of the people died on foot after leaving their cars, four died in a charred car, which was said to be British.

The head of Andalusia’s emergency services, Antonio Sanz, said: “We are facing one of the most complex fires in recent years.”

The Justice Minister, Félix Bolaños, explained that the severity of the fire was due to “climate emergency,” and he pointed out that the fire was moving at 100 meters per minute during its maximum intensity. Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, with twice the warming as other continents.

However, in France, near where this report originates, various forest fires are burning due to temperatures reaching 40°C, and 32 people have been detained on suspicion of starting them. In total, more than 25,000 hectares of land in France have been affected by fire since the beginning of the year 2026.

This is double the area destroyed during the same time last year. Searches for victims are underway; there are 23 persons who are missing. The Spanish police have arrested two persons for not heeding the evacuation order.