British couple return to village at heart of deadly Spanish wildfire
At least 13 people, including five believed to be Britons, were killed by Thursday's wildfire in Spain's Almeria province.
BBC News - Europe
75
4 min read
0 views
Image caption,
Emma and Simon Mitchell were relieved to find their home had not been damaged by the fire
ByNick Beake
Europe Correspondent in Bédar, south eastern Spain
As we climbed the winding road to Bédar, we emerged into a charred and desolate landscape.
Molten car parts littered our path and out of the window we saw the whole hillside now coated in a dusty black.
At least 13 people, including five believed by Spanish authorities to be Britons, were killed by Thursday's wildfire in Spain's Almeria province, one of the country's deadliest ever.
The toll rose on Sunday after a 93-year-old woman, believed to be British, died of her injuries in hospital. The identities of those killed have not yet been officially confirmed.
The fire, which has now been contained, burned through about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of land, authorities said.
The breadth of the damage on display was a vivid sign of the ferocity of the flames, which had been powered by winds of up to 50 km/h (31mph).
Figure caption,
‘This landscape is completely charred’: Inside the town at the centre of Spanish wildfires
But as we drove further into the village it dawned on us just how many of the bright white Andalusian homes had seemingly been spared.
"This is our house and it survived," Emma Mitchell told us with a huge sigh of relief.
She pointed across the valley to a property ringed by darkened trees and vegetation. But her eyes filled as she described driving past friends' houses that had not been so lucky.
Emma and her husband Simon moved three years ago to Bédar, where they looked after 15 chickens and spent time with their three dogs.
"When I look over there and I see how close we were to disaster like some of those people, that is terrifying," she said.
The Mitchells said they had never been given clear instructions on how they should flee in the case of a fire.
"Next time it would be good to get an alert on our phones. We get an alert for earthquakes that are 50 miles away but we don't get an alert for a fire that is a quarter of a kilometre away."
Image caption,
The Los Gallardos area is home to many foreign residents
We followed them back to their house where they found all of the chickens still alive.
The power and water were still working, too – despite the inferno that took hold around the house.
The couple said the local police and firefighters had been outstanding.
But Emma was particularly angry with those local officials who said some people who were killed – including Britons – had not followed instructions.
Addressing the authorities, she said: "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."
Image source, EPA
Image caption,
The charred ruins of a restaurant in Bédar, destroyed by Thursday's wildfire
Local officials have said previously they did not issue an alert on Thursday night because it may have reached people beyond the affected area and could have complicated evacuations.
Authorities have also said police went door-to-door or telephoned residents with instructions on how to shelter or evacuate safely.
The Andalusian regional government and the Spanish Civil Guard police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the devastated area of Los Gallardos, home to many foreign residents, on Monday.
The pair are thought to have been out hiking as the blaze spread rapidly through the province on Thursday. They were evacuated and taken to hospital where they are in intensive care.
In 1984, 20 people died in a fire on the Canary Island of La Gomera, while in 1979, 21 people, including nine children, died in a forest fire near Lloret de Mar in north-eastern Spain.
Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, causing increased summer heatwaves and more intense wildfires.
Additional reporting by Kostas Kallergis, Juan Dominguez.
Get in touch
Have you been affected by the wildfires and extreme heat in Southern Europe? If it is safe to do so, get in touch.
