The fire broke out on Thursday, 9 July 2026, near the hamlet of Almocáizar, quickly spreading across 6,600 hectares of dry hillsides. Emergency services have confirmed that 12 people died in the disaster, which forced the evacuation of nearly 1,500 residents from 11 mountain villages.
Among the survivors are the British couple, who were rescued by Civil Guard officers in the early hours of Friday morning. Trapped in a steep ravine near the village of Bédar, both had suffered burns to 40% of their bodies. They remain in critical condition in an intensive care unit.
Escape routes turned into traps
The fire spread with devastating speed, driven by 50 km/h winds and temperatures reaching 40°C. Within two hours, the flames had advanced 15 kilometers, fueled by dry vegetation. Investigators believe a damaged private electrical cable sparked the initial blaze.
For many, escape proved impossible. The high death toll is largely attributed to narrow ravines and dead-end dirt tracks that became fire traps. Police later found four bodies inside a single car trapped on a blocked mountain path. Many victims had abandoned their vehicles only to be overcome by thick smoke and intense heat.
A dramatic rescue in the dark
The British couple was saved after a three-man Civil Guard patrol, led by Sergeant Pedro Barre, heard faint cries in the dark. Barre had decided to search the ravine one last time before dawn.
Officers scrambled down the steep slope to reach the semi-conscious pair, who have since been evacuated to a specialist burns unit in Seville.
Questions over emergency warnings
The disaster has sparked anger among local residents over the lack of official warnings. Antonio Sanz, the regional emergency chief, defended the decision not to send out a mass mobile alert during the evacuation, pointing instead to the chaos of the escape.
"The uncoordinated evacuation and flight along improvised routes in thick smoke made this tragedy much worse," Sanz said.
But residents in Bédar rejected this explanation, accusing authorities of leaving them in the dark.
"There was absolutely no guidance," said Emma Mitchell, a local resident. "No one told us which roads were safe, and there were no emergency alerts on our phones."
For now, evacuated residents are waiting at police blockades, hoping to learn if their homes survived the blaze.
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