Authorities in Spain’s Almería province have confirmed that 13 people, including seven British nationals, died in a wildfire that broke out on Thursday, July 9, sweeping through forests and farmland in one of the deadliest blazes the country has seen in recent years. Among the British victims was a woman who had purchased her retirement home through the Channel 4 program “A Place in the Sun.”
The fire engulfed 70 square kilometers (27 square miles) near Los Gallardos and swept toward Bédar, a village of fewer than 1,000 people. Spanish police completed post-mortem examinations and reported that 12 of the 13 fatalities were foreign nationals. Alongside the seven Britons, three of the dead were from Belgium, one from France and one from the United States. The final victim was a Spanish citizen. Eight of those who died were women and five were men, and the families of all 13 have been informed.
The last victim to be identified was a 93-year-old British woman. Officials in Andalusia said she was hospitalized on Friday, July 10, with approximately 20% of her body burned, and authorities announced her death Sunday afternoon, July 12, raising the death toll to 13.
A Retirement Built on the Show
One of the British victims is Annette Kilgore, 69, who disappeared after evacuating her Bédar residence as the wildfire approached. Authorities have since formally identified her among the dead. Kilgore and her husband, Malcolm Timbrell, 70, moved to the village from Cornwall after appearing on “A Place in the Sun” in 2023. The couple had been together for 17 years. Presenter Leah Charles-King helped them buy their home, and at the start of their episode Kilgore spoke of easing into Spanish life after retiring from years working in mental health.
Timbrell survived. He described to the BBC how he became separated from Kilgore and seven of their friends and neighbors as the fire raced toward their home. The group had decided to flee by car, but Timbrell turned back for the couple’s two cats, Charlie and Lilly. When he tried to catch up, he found the others had abandoned their vehicles and were attempting to escape on foot.
The fire was advancing at more than 20 kilometers an hour. Timbrell said he screamed at them not to walk through the flames, but his wife and the others believed it was their only escape route, he told the BBC. “They had no chance,” Timbrell told the BBC.
Timbrell said he and one of the cats sheltered inside a car as the fire closed in, and that four of the six vehicles the group had used combusted instantly. As each caught fire, he retreated to the next, and the last two, though scorched and blistered, endured. “We have had an amazing life together and now it’s stopped,” he told the broadcaster, adding that he was awaiting DNA confirmation before he could begin to grieve.
Families Confront the Loss
Channel 4 host Jasmine Harman posted a tribute after learning of the deaths in Bédar, saying she was heartbroken by the news and sending her condolences to those who had lost loved ones, especially to Timbrell. She said she did not have the words to express her sorrow for his loss.
British couple Pete and Fran Gillam, who lived in Bédar, were also killed. Their deaths were confirmed by their daughter, Danielle Gillam-Kirton, of Sheffield, who wrote on Facebook that the family was heartbroken to learn from police that her parents had not survived. Four bodies were discovered inside a burnt-out car fitted with a right-sided steering wheel, an indication the victims were British.
There was one moment of reprieve. Two British hikers were found alive but severely injured, having suffered burns to 40% of their bodies. They were located by Civil Guard officers who returned to search an area they had already covered. Sgt. Pedro Garre, one of the officers, told broadcaster RTVE that years of experience taught them to look again and check one last time just in case.
A Summer of Extreme Heat
Hundreds of firefighters battled the inferno as helicopters dropped water from above. Nearly 1,500 people were evacuated from Almería province. Juanma Moreno, president of the regional government of Andalusia, said the fire was contained and its perimeter secured Sunday afternoon, after it had burned through about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres). More than 1,000 residents were later cleared to return to evacuated villages north of Los Gallardos.
The disaster unfolded during a punishing stretch of Spanish weather. Heatwaves in the area reached around 40C, and the extreme conditions, combined with parched ground and strong winds, spread the flames rapidly through Los Gallardos. Investigators believe a downed power line sparked the blaze, though the cause remains under investigation.
In June, Spain experienced multiple days of historically high temperatures, with the heat linked to over 1,000 additional fatalities. Other fires flared elsewhere the same weekend, including a blaze in Tarragona, in Catalonia, that burned 110 hectares, and a wildfire seen billowing smoke in León province.
A Foreign Office spokesman said its thoughts were with all those affected and that Britain was supporting affected nationals and their families while remaining in close contact with Spanish authorities.