Wildfire in southern Spain kills expats, leaves wife missing

Malcolm Timbrell survived the wildfire that tore through Bédar by staying in his car as flames raced across the hills of southern Spain. His wife, Annette Kilgore, 69, and friends were feared dead after some evacuees left their vehicles and tried to reach safety on foot. The fire broke out late Thursday in the Los Gallardos area of Almeria province, where steep, dry terrain turned escape routes into deadly traps.

The blaze spread with extraordinary speed through scrubland, esparto grass, ravines and wooded patches near Bédar, making evacuation difficult in a region already under heat-wave conditions. In some areas, a dry riverbed became a death trap as people tried to flee. Several victims were found after abandoning cars.

At least 11 people were killed, 23 were missing and eight were injured, four of them seriously. Four of the dead were British nationals after they were found in a right-hand-drive car. Timbrell, 70, lived in Bédar with Kilgore, and the wider expatriate community in the area was among those hit hardest as families waited for word from loved ones who had not been heard from after the fire swept through the village.

Antonio Sanz, Andalusia’s emergency chief, called it the region’s “most devastating fire to date” and an “unprecedented tragedy.” Spain’s military emergency unit, known as the UME, and firefighters were deployed in force. About 150 firefighters and 220 soldiers took part, and the total response was put at around 400 firefighters and troops. Road closures, including part of the A-7 motorway, complicated movement across the area as crews battled to stop the fire’s advance.

By Friday, the blaze had burned at least 3,150 hectares, and the area destroyed later rose to more than 6,600 hectares. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez expressed condolences publicly on X.