Overview
- The fire began Thursday afternoon near Los Gallardos on the N-340A and spread within hours across steep, dry terrain, trapping many people in vehicles as they tried to escape.
- Authorities report a provisional death toll of 11–12 people, with between 19 and 23 still unaccounted for and roughly 1,000 to 1,400 residents evacuated to temporary shelters.
- Hundreds of personnel are engaged in response and search work, including the UME military emergency unit, Guardia Civil, regional firefighters and multiple aerial firefighting assets.
- Regional officials and witnesses point to a fallen electrical cable that landed on dry vegetation as a likely ignition source while Red Eléctrica and Endesa dispute direct responsibility and investigations continue.
- The blaze is part of a wave of heat-driven fires in Spain this summer and is likely to sharpen scrutiny of infrastructure maintenance, early-warning systems and disaster-prevention policies as victims are identified and damage tallied.