Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the scene of one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires in recent history on Monday, calling for a national commitment to tackling the climate emergency after touring the devastated landscape from the air in the proivince of Almeria (Andalusia).
Travelling by helicopter, Sánchez flew over the scorched terrain before landing at the central command site where the emergency response has been coordinated in the southern municipality of Turre. The wildfire, which broke out on Thursday, has claimed 13 lives, destroyed around 7,000 hectares of forest and scrubland, and transformed picturesque rural settlements into ghost towns.
On arrival, Sánchez was welcomed by Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno before greeting firefighters, military personnel and other emergency workers involved in battling the blaze. He also held a brief meeting with the mayors of the affected municipalities before the two leaders delivered a joint statement (main image).
During the appearance, Sánchez called for what he described as ‘a great national agreement’ to confront the climate emergency, warning that its consequences were becoming increasingly severe.
‘Climate change kills,’ the prime minister insisted. ‘We are seeing it across Europe and across Spain.’
He said governments at every level must rise to the challenge posed by increasingly frequent natural disasters and recognise that the climate is changing.
‘We have to ensure that all administrations are equal to the challenge ahead of us,’ Sánchez said, adding that ‘the effects of the climate emergency are becoming more severe’ and that everyone had a responsibility to play their part.
Looking ahead to what both leaders described as a potentially difficult wildfire season, Sánchez warned that Spain would need to remain on constant alert throughout what he said was likely to be a ‘complex’ summer.
He stressed that prevention would be just as important as emergency response.
‘We must not only react when these fires happen, we must prevent’ as climate change makes civil protection emergencies ‘increasingly frequent’, Sánchez said. He called for stronger protection of vulnerable communities, better public awareness and training programmes to help young people understand how to respond during emergencies.
Moreno echoed the call for greater preparedness, saying citizens could also help by reporting smoke quickly, alerting authorities to the ‘suspicious attitudes’ of possible arsonists and paying close attention to official warnings.
Both leaders praised the close cooperation between Spain’s different administrations throughout the emergency. Moreno thanked the Military Emergency Unit (UME) and all of the firefighters and emergency personnel involved in the operation. ALSO READ: Sánchez unveils Spain’s largest anti-wildfire operation after devastating 2025 fires.
‘Always willing, always capable and always stepping forward,’ he said of the UME. ‘Everyone has worked with great intensity against the fire; this is the right way forward.’
Sánchez also thanked the many European governments that had expressed solidarity with Spain following what he described as a national tragedy.
‘I want to wish a speedy recovery to all those who are injured and extend my condolences to the loved ones of the victims of this tragedy,’ he said.
The wildfire spread through steep, rugged countryside at speeds of up to 100 metres per minute at its peak last week, trapping people in vehicles or on foot as they attempted to flee. Authorities have said some victims may not have been able to heed evacuation warnings in time.
Calmer winds and lower temperatures over the weekend allowed hundreds of firefighters, supported by helicopters, amphibious aircraft and the UME, to stabilise the blaze. Andalusia’s regional government has since lowered the wildfire alert to the pre-emergency phase, lifted evacuation orders and allowed residents to begin returning to their homes, although firefighters continue cooling hotspots while search teams look for missing people. ALSO READ: Almeria wildfire stabilised as investigators work to identify victims and missing.
Victims
Investigators have so far formally identified six of the 12 people whose bodies were recovered at the scene. They include a Spanish man and his British wife, together with a British man, a British woman, a French woman and a Belgian man.
The confirmed British death toll rose to four after a 93-year-old British woman, who had suffered serious burns in the fire, died in hospital on Sunday. She had been among eight people admitted to hospital following the blaze, four of them with serious injuries. Seven other people were injured. ALSO READ: Death toll from Almeria wildfire reaches 13 after elderly British woman succumbs to her injuries.
Forensic experts are continuing DNA analysis to identify the remaining victims after the intensity of the fire left visual identification impossible. Relatives have provided biological samples with assistance from British, Belgian and French consular authorities, and officials expect the remaining identifications to be completed in the coming days.
Authorities say the total number of missing people remains uncertain until all of the bodies have been formally identified. While 10 official missing-person reports have been filed, officials have also cautioned that some of those believed missing could ultimately prove to be among the victims still awaiting identification.
Investigators suspect the wildfire began when a power line broke, igniting vegetation that had been left tinder dry after temperatures climbed above 40C.
Scientists say climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels is making extreme weather events such as heatwaves – which contribute to fast-moving wildfires – both more frequent and more intense. ALSO READ: Study finds climate change made Spain’s wildfires 40 times more likely.
Experts also say unusually heavy spring rainfall this year encouraged abundant vegetation growth across parts of southern Spain, creating fuel that later dried out in the extreme summer heat, allowing the flames to spread with devastating speed. ALSO READ: Wildfires in Spain this year confirmed as most destructive in country’s history.
‘Here climate change is having a very big impact, and we are in a state of climate chaos with situations that are practically unheard of, exceptional and increasingly explosive,’ Moreno said. ALSO READ: Spain records over 1,000 heat-related deaths as first half of 2026 becomes hottest on record
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, wildfires destroyed almost 400,000 hectares of land across Spain last year, the highest annual total ever recorded for the country. ALSO READ: Firefighters contain much of Costa Brava wildfire after tourists evacuated and thousands confined.
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El Gobierno ha propuesto un gran acuerdo frente a la emergencia climática, para estar preparados en la prevención y en la reacción.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 13, 2026
Porque la emergencia climática mata.
Debemos estar a la altura del desafío, con cooperación, unidad y coherencia en la lucha contra el fuego. pic.twitter.com/pqYb9IlITI
Todo apunta a que vamos a tener un verano muy duro en materia de incendios forestales. Por favor, MÁXIMA ALERTA.
— Juanma Moreno (@JuanMa_Moreno) July 13, 2026
Llevamos el triple de superficie quemada en este inicio de periodo estival.
Pedimos la colaboración de toda la sociedad: seamos muy prudentes y evitemos riesgos. pic.twitter.com/b9KkVJxhEc
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