Spain wildfire kills 11 in Almeria as extreme heat fans deadly blaze

Reports suggest the blaze may have been sparked by a fallen power line, according to The Guardian. The fire scorched 3,800 hectares (9,390 acres) in Almeria, with many victims trapped in cars as they tried to escape.

Guillermo Rein, a fire scientist at Imperial College London, explained why the fire spread so fast. “The Los Gallardos wildfire in Almeria appears to have faced the worst possible combination: a point of ignition in a vast landscape of extremely dry vegetation, strong winds, and a nearby community that was unprepared,” he said, as per The Guardian.

“These conditions allowed the flames to spread extremely rapidly toward homes, overwhelming the firefighters operating under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Recent heatwaves had already dried out the landscape, turning the vegetation into highly flammable fuel.”