British man dies on phone to wife as Spain wildfire kills 12

A British man died while speaking to his wife on the phone as a wildfire swept through southern Spain, trapping him in his car with the family cats. The conversation was their last. Penelope Howe, a friend of the man's wife, told The Times that the woman remained on the line as her husband became trapped, describing how he had managed to retrieve the cats before the flames closed in. "They were speaking together for the last few minutes," Howe said. "That was how it ended."

The fire, which tore through the Los Gallardos region near Almería in Andalusia, has killed at least 12 people so far, with 23 more still missing. Nearly all confirmed victims have been Belgian nationals, though four bodies found inside a right-hand drive vehicle are believed to be British. The death toll is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue and missing persons are accounted for. Officials have not yet identified any of the victims, and some remain under investigation for whether they had followed evacuation orders or shelter-in-place directives.

The fire began Thursday when a power line broke in a roadside ditch and ignited a small blaze. What followed was catastrophic. Winds gusting at 30 miles per hour drove the flames up a hillside and across 10 miles of parched scrubland in just two hours. The fire ultimately scorched 7,000 hectares across a 40-kilometer perimeter, forcing thousands to evacuate as it spread at what regional president Juanma Moreno called an "unprecedented speed." Moreno described the combination of geographical and meteorological conditions as having created "one of the fastest-spreading fires in the history of Andalusia, and possibly in Spain. A speed never before seen."

The circumstances surrounding the evacuation have become a point of contention. Officials have suggested that some victims failed to heed orders to leave or take shelter. But Stanislas Verdonckt, a Belgian businessman who died in the fire, received no such warning, according to his son. The younger Verdonckt, a virologist, spoke to his father by phone just before 9 p.m. Thursday as the fire advanced on the mountain village of Bedar. His father was among eight victims found in a valley on the village's outskirts. "They only started to run when the flames were almost upon them," the son told Reuters. "That was their absolute last resort." The authorities, he said, had not informed residents that the fire was approaching or advised them to seek shelter.

Not all who were caught in the fire's path perished. A British couple who were hiking near Bedar when the blaze hit were rescued Friday by members of Spain's Civil Guard. The officers heard distant cries for help and located the pair, though the rescue nearly failed—the rescuers initially mistook the couple's calls for an echo, so far away did the voices sound. Both were found in critical condition with burns covering 40 percent of their bodies and remain hospitalized. Manuel Moyanao, one of the rescuers, expressed astonishment at finding anyone alive. "It was unbelievable that there could be any life left there, that there could be any people still alive," he said. Sergeant Pedro Barre, another member of the rescue team, credited experience and persistence: "As you gain more experience, something inside you tells you, 'Look again, try one more time.'" That instinct saved two lives.

By Friday morning, the wildfire had been stabilized, though officials cautioned that the danger remains far from over. Forest officials warned on social media that the risk of additional fires remains elevated. "There's one truth that remains intact: zero risk does not exist," the agency stated. Locals who watched their homes consumed by the flames face a long recovery, and the full scope of the disaster may not be known for days as rescue teams continue searching for the 23 missing persons.