Firefighters gain upper hand on deadly Spain wildfire Andrew Zinin Chief Editor Firefighters battling a wildfire in southern Spain that killed 12 people began to contain the blaze Saturday as the hardest-hit village remained deserted, with charred vegetation and blackened homes a grim reminder of the inferno that sent terrified people fleeing their homes. Around 500 firefighters, backed by more than 20 water-dropping aircraft, were battling the blaze, which erupted Thursday in the Gallardos area of the southern region of Andalusia, home to many foreign residents. Calmer winds and higher humidity allowed firefighters to directly attack the flames for the first time, officials said.

"The fire has not spread at all today," Justice Minister Felix Bolanos said at the end of the day after traveling to the area, adding that the burned area remained unchanged at 6,600 hectares (16,300 acres). "We have taken advantage of a window of opportunity, with favorable weather conditions in terms of wind and humidity today, to intensify our efforts," he said, expressing hope the blaze could be brought under control in the coming hours. Officials said the 12 people who died in the fast-moving fire had been trapped in vehicles or while trying to flee on foot.

The majority were foreigners, although their identities have not yet been released. "We were absolutely terrified. We could see the flames.

It was horrific," Manoli Ramos, 72, a councilor in the small whitewashed village of Bedar, where the victims were found, told AFP, adding, "It was like hell." Bedar was virtually a ghost town Saturday afternoon, with nearly all of its residents evacuated, according to an AFP reporter. Police kept the main road into town closed. "I said to my wife, 'Get out quick, leave everything.

Get out.' And in the time it took to say that, I was engulfed in a ball of fire," a tearful Jerome Navarro told French television Saturday. He and his French wife had just arrived at their holiday home when the flames closed in. Navarro escaped by throwing himself into a ditch and crawling away but hasn't seen his wife, who remains missing.

- 'Get out' - Austin Crilly, an 87-year-old Briton who was evacuated from the affected area, said he was watching television when he "saw a huge black cloud—well, I thought it was a cloud." Shortly afterward came the warning from police: "'Take your money, take your cards and get out,'" he told AFP. Officials said some of those who died had not followed orders to evacuate or shelter in place once the flames got too close. The wildfire—one of the deadliest in Spain's recent history—forcibly evacuated some 1,500 people.

Eight people remain in the hospital, with four being treated in a burns unit. "I'd never seen anything like it. You see things like that in films, but never in real life," said Martin Smith, 63, a British tourist who was evacuated with his wife, Elizabeth, 65, from the campsite where they were on holiday.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the fire-ravaged area Monday. Authorities suspect the wildfire began when a power line broke as Spain sweltered in extreme heat, exceeding 40°C (104°F) in recent weeks.