Spain wildfire stabilizes after claiming 12 lives

BEDAR, Spain — A deadly wildfire in southern Spain that killed at least 12 people was stabilized on Sunday, allowing about 1,000 remaining evacuees to return home while firefighters continued mop-up operations, regional authorities said.

Regional emergency chief Antonio Sanz said late Saturday that about 600 of the nearly 1,500 people evacuated from the fire zone in Almeria Province had been allowed to return.

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the devastated area on Monday, the government said.

The fire, which erupted late Thursday, has scorched about 6,600 hectares of forest and farmland near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria Province, which is home to one of the largest communities of foreign nationals in Andalusia.

Most of the victims died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, authorities said. Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars. Four of the dead are believed to be British, regional authorities said.

Authorities have kept the death toll at 12 and cautioned that the number of missing people remains uncertain until autopsies and the identification of recovered bodies are completed.

Hundreds of firefighters, backed by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, have been battling the blaze. A combination of light winds and high humidity has aided firefighting efforts, said Sanz.

Justice Minister Felix Bolanos said nearly all homes along the fire front's perimeter remained undamaged.

Bolanos on Saturday attributed the ferocity of the wildfire to a "climate emergency". He said the fire, at its most intense, advanced as fast as 100 meters per minute.

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has spoken with his counterparts from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada and the Netherlands about the fire, Spain's official EFE news agency reported.

The blazes came as parts of Western Europe are facing their third heat wave in six weeks. Spain experienced several days of record-setting heat in June, with over 1,000 excess deaths.

Several wildfires also lashed France last week and remained active. Authorities said more than 25,000 hectares had burned since the start of the year, roughly double the area affected during the same period in 2025. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that 32 people have been arrested across the country since the beginning of the summer in connection with wildfires.

France is enduring another heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40 C in some regions. The Louvre and Orsay museums have also announced reduced opening hours because of the extreme heat.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA