12 dead in Spain wildfire; victims ignored orders

BEJAR, SPAIN (AP) — A wildfire in southern Spain has killed at least 12 people. Most of the victims ignored instructions to stay inside their homes, authorities said Saturday. Hundreds of firefighters, supported by helicopters and planes, are trying to contain the fire. It started late Thursday near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province. The fire has burned about 66 square kilometers (25 square miles) of forest and farmland. That is an area about the size of Manhattan. Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia’s emergency services, said light winds and high humidity are helping crews. But the fire’s large size is still a problem. Fire crews carried out controlled burns around the fire overnight, Sanz said. Seven victims died on foot after leaving their cars. Four of the dead are believed to be British. Regional authorities said the steering wheel of their burned car was on the right side, like in British vehicles. Authorities have completed autopsies and collected DNA samples to identify the victims. They evacuated 1,448 people from 11 areas. Two people were arrested for ignoring evacuation orders and returning to a high-risk area, according to Spain’s EFE news agency. Authorities are still searching the Bédar area for more victims. **Survivor describes escape** Jeffrey Kember and his wife Christine were watching television in their farmhouse when a siren warned them of the fire. They jumped into separate cars and tried to help a neighbor with two children. Kember said he drove through flames. He could not speak to his wife because she did not have a phone. “I’m driving through the flames. It was actually flames. I thought, ‘I can’t stop, I just gotta go,’” Kember told The Associated Press. “It was eerie because all of a sudden I came out of the flames and it was all bright sunshine. It was like surreal. Ridiculous!” **Climate emergency blamed** Justice Minister Félix Bolaños said the fire’s intensity was caused by a “climate emergency.” At its worst, the fire moved as fast as 100 meters (328 feet) per minute. Spain has faced frequent and severe heat waves in recent years. Temperatures often exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Wind, high heat, and little rain help small fires grow quickly. In June, Spain had several days of record heat. More than 1,000 excess deaths were reported. Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent. Temperatures have increased twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. **Fires also burn in France** Several wildfires were active across France on Saturday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 32 people have been arrested since the start of summer for starting fires. “Those unacceptable acts, which have disastrous consequences and mobilize our firefighters at the risk of their lives, now fall into the hands of the justice system,” he said. French President Emmanuel Macron said nine out of 10 wildfires start because of human activity. More than 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres) have burned in France since the start of 2026. That is about double the area from the same period last year. France is experiencing its third heat wave this summer. Temperatures reached 40 C in western and central areas. **Deadly history** Spain’s deadliest wildfire was in 1979. Twenty-one people died in Lloret de Mar, near Barcelona. In 2017, a wildfire in neighboring Portugal killed 66 people. Forty-seven of them died on one road while trying to flee in their cars.