Photo :webshot.

July 25, 2026

Anna Murray 

A July 9 wildfire in Almería, Spain, has turned into one of the country's deadliest, highlighting a dangerous trend of hotter, longer, and more frequent blazes across the Mediterranean.

Southern Europe is enduring an unusually early start to wildfire season. Spain has been hit particularly hard, with over 240,000 acres destroyed so far. Major blazes include the La Mierla fire in central Spain—which has burned 13,000 hectares and displaced 16 towns—and a 15,400-hectare fire near Orés in the northeast.

To combat fires in rugged mountain terrain, donkeys are being deployed as natural firefighters. By consuming dry vegetation, they sculpt effective firebreaks across the arid landscape. Meteorologists warn that high-risk conditions will likely spark additional wildfires across Spain and France in the coming days.