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A deadly wildfire that has killed at least 12 people in Spain’s Almería province has stabilised, local authorities have said.
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Since Saturday afternoon, calmer weather conditions, including lower winds and higher humidity, have helped firefighting crews as they have worked to bring the blaze under control, allowing them to secure much of the fire’s perimeter.
“Good news. After some very tough days,” fire crews have declared the fire to be stabilised, Juan Manuel Moreno, the head of the regional government of Andalusia, wrote in a post on X.
“The fire has been contained and its perimeter secured,” he continued, adding: “We are therefore downgrading the alert to operational level 1, and the 1,000 people who had been evacuated are authorised to return home gradually.”
The blaze is thought to have burned around 7,000 hectares across the area.
On Saturday night, the regional minister responsible for emergency services, Antonio Sanz, confirmed the return of more than 600 people who had been evacuated from the region.
Many others remain housed in second homes or hotels, however, with the costs covered by the central government.
Spain’s Civil Guard has been inspecting homes in the region one by one. Of the 250 properties looked at so far in the affected area, the vast majority are still standing, with no significant damage.
Authorities have kept the death toll at 12 and cautioned that the number of missing people remains uncertain until autopsies and the identification of recovered bodies are completed.
Officials have said many of the victims could be foreign nationals.
