One of Spain's Deadliest Wildfires Kills 12 — Including Four Britons — and Scorches 25 Square Miles as Hundreds of Firefighters Battle Blaze in Almería

Wildfires fueled by heat, wind, and dry vegetation have killed twelve people across southern Europe, forcing thousands to evacuate.

One of Spain's deadliest wildfires on record has killed at least 12 people and left 23 others missing in Los Gallardos, in Spain's Almería province, as a broader heatwave grips southern Europe. The fire broke out late Thursday and has scorched about 25 square miles of forest and farmland. Most victims are believed to be foreign nationals, with four Britons thought to be among the dead — some found in burnt-out vehicles as they attempted to flee the blaze. Six others were injured. Hundreds of firefighters are working to contain the blaze. Spain, Portugal, Greece, and France are all contending with active blazes or extreme fire danger simultaneously, forcing thousands of residents to abandon their homes, with officials describing conditions as a 'powder keg' of fire risk. Experts point to a combination of record heat, strong winds, and an abundance of dry vegetation as driving the severity of the fires — conditions described as 'the worst possible combination.' A long-term hollowing out of rural populations has also left vast areas of countryside unmanaged and overgrown, providing more fuel for fires to spread rapidly. Wildfires across Europe have killed hundreds of people over the last decade, and climate change is expected to push death tolls even higher in coming years. Among those caught up in the chaos was Jeanne Henny, a 74-year-old British woman near one of the Spanish blazes, who loaded a wheelchair-bound friend, along with two dogs, into her car and fled — only to find fire advancing directly onto the road ahead of her. She described her escape as 'incredible.' The fires are affecting daily life across the region: in France, spectators have been banned from sections of the Tour de France route due to fire risk. Emergency services across multiple countries are working to contain blazes while authorities warn that conditions remain dangerous.

Why it matters

The simultaneous outbreak of deadly wildfires across four southern European countries illustrates how heatwaves are translating rapidly into mass-casualty disasters, displacing thousands and straining emergency services across an entire region. The fires also highlight a structural vulnerability: depopulated rural areas where unmanaged vegetation acts as ready fuel.

What's next

Authorities across Spain, Portugal, Greece, and France are monitoring conditions as the heatwave continues, with fire danger remaining extreme across the region.

Key facts

• Twelve people died in a wildfire at Los Gallardos in Spain's Almería province
• Six people were injured in the same Almería blaze
• Spain, Portugal, Greece, and France are all simultaneously facing active wildfires or extreme fire risk
• Thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate their homes across the affected countries
• Tour de France spectators have been banned from certain route sections due to wildfire danger in France
• Experts cite heat, strong winds, dry vegetation, and decades of rural depopulation as compounding factors

Bias & framing notes

All four sources originate from either The Guardian or BBC, limiting source diversity. The Guardian's coverage leans toward structural and explanatory angles — rural depopulation, climate context — while the BBC focuses more narrowly on the immediate death toll and injury figures. The personal narrative of Jeanne Henny appears only in The Guardian and adds human color but is a single anecdotal account. No sources present conflicting facts; they are largely complementary in scope.

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