July 11, 2026 / 10:17 AM EDT
/ AP
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At least 12 people are dead as hundreds of firefighters backed by helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft struggled Saturday to contain one of Spain's deadliest wildfires.A combination of light winds and high humidity are helping crews, but the sheer size of the fire still poses challenges, Antonio Sanz, head of Andalusia's emergency services, said. The fire has scorched some 25 square miles of forest and farmland, about the size of Manhattan.Sanz said fire crews carried out controlled burns overnight around the perimeter of the fire, which broke out late Thursday in a semi-arid area near the Sierra de Los Filabres mountains in Almeria province, just as Spain was sizzling under a high temperature warning.Most of the victims, who are believed to be foreign nationals, died after ignoring shelter-in-place instructions, authorities said. Seven people died while on foot after abandoning their cars.
A picture taken on July 10, 2026 shows a helicopter dropping water in the area of a wildfire in Spain.
