Deadly Spain wildfire kills 12, 23 remain missing

At least 12 people died and 23 others were missing after a wildfire tore through southern Spain, with several victims found inside burnt-out vehicles as they tried to flee the flames. The fire was still not fully under control as firefighters battled the blaze across Almeria province, where strong winds pushed it from Los Gallardos into nearby Bedar.

The wildfire broke out on Thursday afternoon, July 9, 2026, near the N-340 highway in the municipality of Los Gallardos, in Andalusia. Officials said the fire spread quickly under gusting winds, turning fast-moving evacuation routes into deadly traps for people who may have believed they had enough time to escape by car. The death toll was first put at 11 before being revised to at least 12, underscoring how quickly the scale of the disaster was still changing as crews worked through the wreckage.

The fire struck during a severe heatwave that had gripped much of Spain, with temperatures in parts of the south nearing 42C to 44C, or about 107F to 111F. Spain’s state meteorological agency, AEMET, had already issued high-level heat and wildfire warnings. That combination of extreme heat, dry ground and strong winds left little margin for error, and Spain had already entered a high-risk fire season before the blaze began.

The disaster was described as the deadliest recorded in Andalusia and one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires on record. Early reports suggested that some victims may have been foreign nationals, including four people feared to be British, adding an international dimension to a fire that hit one of the province’s best-known holiday areas. The missing remain unaccounted for as emergency workers continue to search the burned zone.

The scale of the loss also comes against a broader seasonal backdrop that points to mounting strain on civil protection systems across southern Europe. European estimates said nearly 50,000 hectares had already burned in Spain in 2026 before this fire, a sign that the country was facing an unusually dangerous start to the season.