Eleven dead and nineteen missing in Almeria wildfire as Spain battles heat-driven blazes

The fire broke out in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains and tore through Bedar, a small village in the Los Gallardos district northeast of Almeria. Witnesses said a fallen power line may have ignited scrubland, setting off a blaze that spread rapidly into nearby forest. Victims attempted to flee through difficult, forested terrain; some were found inside burnt-out vehicles, and Sanz said seven people died on foot after abandoning their cars. "One group fled via a dry riverbed which turned into a death trap," Sanz added. Authorities said many of the victims may have been foreign tourists visiting Bedar, and identification work was continuing.

Heatwave compounds wildfire risk across Western Europe

Some 400 firefighters and troops were battling the flames, including 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers from Spain's military emergency unit. The fire consumed more than 3,200 hectares (7,900 acres) of forest and farmland, according to the European Forest Fire Information System. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed his condolences on X, writing: "Immense sadness and desolation in the face of the terrible consequences of the fire affecting the province of Almeria." A separate large wildfire in the eastern Pyrenees near the Spanish border has decreased in intensity after burning about 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) and forcing the evacuation of more than 10,000 people.

The disaster comes as Western Europe faces its third heatwave in six weeks, with temperatures across Spain and France forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday. France is at the peak of its third heatwave of the summer, with 40 C recorded in western and central areas and around 37 C (98 F) in Paris; last month was France's hottest June on record, with deaths surging by nearly a third during the hottest week. In June, Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat, with over 1,000 excess deaths attributed to the high temperatures.

Comparisons to previous Mediterranean disasters

Scientists at the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service say Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. Spain has experienced frequent and severe heat waves in recent years, often exceeding 40 C, and its 2024 fire season burned more than 393,000 hectares, an area twice as large as London, killing four people. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record.

The scale of the loss has drawn comparisons to previous Mediterranean disasters. In 2017, a wildfire in Pedrogao Grande, Portugal, 200 kilometers (120 miles) northeast of Lisbon, killed 66 people, with 47 of them dying on a single road while attempting to flee in their cars. Forest fires are continuing to blaze in both Spain and France, and emergency services across the region are bracing for further outbreaks as the heatwave persists.

Cause under investigation and victim identification continues

As of Friday morning, 19 people were still reported missing and eight had been injured. The Almeria fire is among Spain's deadliest wildfires on record, and the loss of life underscores the difficulty of protecting rural communities when fast-moving flames meet forested terrain in extreme heat. Officials urged residents and visitors to comply with shelter-in-place orders rather than attempt to drive or flee on foot, lessons echoed by the Pedrogao Grande inquiry a decade ago.

Investigations into the cause of the Almeria fire are continuing, with early witness accounts pointing to a power line failure. Authorities were still working to confirm the identities and nationalities of the victims, and consular officials were being notified. The Spanish government has not yet announced additional measures, but regional authorities said further reinforcements could be deployed if the blaze expands.