Spanish Wildfire Death Toll Rises to 13 as British Woman, 93, Dies
A 93-year-old British woman has died from injuries suffered in the wildfire that tore through the Almería province village of Los Gallardos, bringing the confirmed death toll to 13 in what officials say is the deadliest wildfire in Andalusia's history and the third-deadliest in Spain's history.
The woman was hospitalized Friday with burns covering about 20% of her body and died of her injuries Sunday, according to officials. She is among at least five Britons believed to have died in the disaster, in a village with a significant British expat and retiree population.
The fire broke out Thursday near Los Gallardos and the neighboring village of Bédar, possibly sparked by a fallen power line, though authorities have not confirmed the cause. Driven by winds gusting up to 50 kilometers per hour, the blaze advanced roughly 15 kilometers in just two hours, catching residents and visitors off guard. It has since burned more than 7,000 hectares.
Evacuation Routes Turned Deadly
Local officials and police went door-to-door urging residents to shelter in place rather than flee, but at least a dozen people chose to leave by car instead. Four bodies, believed to be British nationals, were found inside a burned-out, right-hand-drive vehicle. Eight others died after abandoning their cars and attempting to flee on foot, some apparently trying to reach safety along a dry riverbed route that ultimately became blocked by fire.
"When many people see a fire, the first thing they do is run away," Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia's emergency services, said. "And of course, they think they know the routes, but if they don't have the right information, those routes can of course turn into a death trap."
Two British hikers were found alive Sunday after being trapped in a ravine, suffering an estimated 40% burns. Rescue teams said it took roughly two hours to reach and extract them; both are in serious condition, though their lives are not believed to be in danger.
Response and Recovery
More than 460 emergency personnel, including Spain's Military Emergency Unit, have been deployed to fight the fire and search for those still missing. Around 1,600 residents were evacuated from the area, though officials say all evacuees have since been allowed to return home as the fire has stabilized. At least eight people have been hospitalized with burns, four of them in serious condition.
Spain has declared three days of mourning for the victims. Officials have compared the tragedy to Portugal's 2017 wildfires, which killed more than 60 people, many of them also trapped in vehicles while trying to flee.
The disaster comes amid one of Spain's worst wildfire years in recent memory. According to the European Forest Fire Information System, roughly 57,000 hectares have burned across the country so far in 2026 — about 40% of all land burned in the EU this year. Extreme wildfire risk continues across much of southern Spain this weekend, even as temperatures have eased slightly.
Scientists have linked the intensifying wildfire seasons in southern Europe to climate change, noting that the continent is warming at nearly twice the global average.
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