Emergency services in southeastern Spain are still poking at smoldering bits after one of the country's deadliest wildfires torched through the village of Bedar, killing at least 12 people - including four Britons who apparently didn't get the memo about the recommended evacuation route. Another 23 people are missing, and local officials in the Los Gallardos area of Almería warn the death toll could climb higher, because when Europe has a heatwave, it doesn't mess around.

The fire, which spread with alarming speed on Thursday afternoon thanks to soaring temperatures of around 40°C (104°F), bone-dry ground, and winds that clearly had somewhere to be, has been blamed on a fallen power line - though local electricity companies are denying it, because of course they are. Among the victims, four were found dead in a burnt-out car, which Spanish authorities say had a steering wheel on the right, leading them to believe the occupants were 'of British origin.' Because nothing says 'holiday' like being identified by your car's steering wheel position.

Lucinda Curtois, who arrived in Spain with her partner and teenage kids for a holiday on Thursday, described the scene as 'like a bomb had gone off,' complete with a mushroom cloud of smoke. She fears at least two other UK nationals died, possibly because they left their home on foot when their road was cut off - a decision that seems brave in hindsight but was probably terrifying at the time.

Officials in Bedar admitted that some victims didn't take the recommended evacuation route, though it's unclear how well that guidance was communicated. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot noted that many Belgians have second homes in the area and are currently trying to reach those who've gone silent. The Andalusian branch of national weather agency AEMET says conditions should be 'rather more favourable' on Saturday, with moderate wind and cooler air - which is a bit like saying the Titanic's band played a nice tune.

With at least 12 dead, this is already among Spain's worst wildfires, though it hasn't yet topped the 20 killed in 1984 on La Gomera or the 21 (including nine children) in 1979 near Lloret de Mar. But as climate change drives up temperatures - Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating twice as fast as the global average, according to Copernicus - expect more summer heatwaves, water shortages, and wildfires that make you rethink that Mediterranean villa.