A British couple has described their relief at finding their home intact, yet their anger at perceived official failings, after returning to a village at the heart of a devastating wildfire in Spain's Almeria province. Emma and Simon Mitchell, who moved to Bédar three years ago, were among approximately 600 of the nearly 1,500 people evacuated from the fire zone who were permitted to return on Sunday, 11 July 2026. The blaze, which began on Thursday, 8 July 2026, has claimed at least 13 lives, with Spanish authorities believing five of the victims to be British nationals. This figure rose on Sunday after a 93-year-old woman, also thought to be British, succumbed to her injuries in hospital.
The scale of the destruction is immense, with the fire burning through an estimated 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of land. The landscape around Bédar is now a charred expanse, littered with molten car parts and coated in a dusty black. Despite the widespread devastation, the Mitchells' Andalusian home, like many others in the village, remarkably survived the inferno, which was driven by winds reaching speeds of up to 50 km/h (31mph). The couple expressed their terror at how close they came to disaster, noting that their chickens were alive and both power and water supply remained functional.
However, the Mitchells voiced significant criticism regarding the lack of clear evacuation instructions. Emma Mitchell highlighted the irony of receiving earthquake alerts for distant tremors but no notification for a fire a mere quarter of a kilometre away. She also strongly condemned local officials who suggested some victims had not followed instructions, stating, "You need to get your act sorted and please don't try and victim-blame afterwards. These people that died, they had no instructions to follow, they did the best they could in the circumstances they could and they paid the price." Local officials had previously stated that an alert was not issued on Thursday night to avoid reaching people beyond the affected area and potentially complicating evacuations, asserting that police had gone door-to-door or telephoned residents.
Among those severely affected were another British couple, reportedly found badly burned and semi-conscious in a ravine, believed to have been hiking when the blaze rapidly spread. They are currently in intensive care. The UK Foreign Office is expected to be providing consular assistance to British nationals affected by this tragic event. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the devastated area of Los Gallardos, a region popular with foreign residents, on Monday, 12 July 2026.
This wildfire is already considered one of the deadliest in Spanish history, drawing parallels with incidents like the 1984 fire on La Gomera, which killed 20 people, and a 1979 forest fire near Lloret de Mar that claimed 21 lives. The increasing frequency and intensity of such blazes are often linked to global climate change, which is driving up temperatures and leading to more severe summer heatwaves.