Andalusian officials say ES-Alert would have 'done more harm' after at least 12 die in Los Gallardos wildfire

Fire and casualties

The wildfire started on Thursday from a roadside ditch near Los Gallardos, Almería, and was fanned by strong winds, burning approximately 6,600 hectares by Saturday. At least 12 people have been confirmed dead and 23 remain missing, according to the regional government. Many victims were foreign tourists, mainly British and Belgian, who became trapped on narrow roads while trying to escape in their cars. The emergency coordinator described the area as a 'ratonera' (mousetrap), with dead-end routes.

They probably drove into a dead end, a place with no exit.

Why the ES-Alert was not activated

Regional president Juanma Moreno and emergency chief Antonio Sanz defended the decision not to send the nationwide mass alert system ES-Alert. They argued that the system broadcasts a single message to all phones connected to a mobile tower, without discriminating between areas that needed evacuation and those that required confinement. In the small and scattered settlements around Los Gallardos, sending one alert would have caused confusion and possibly more deaths, they said.

There were cases where people had to be confined in their homes and others where they had to leave, and even the evacuation routes were not the same. Sending one single message would have been confusing.

Sanctions added that three mobile base stations were destroyed by the fire, further limiting the alert's reach. The technical committee of Civil Protection recommended door-to-door warnings, which were carried out by local police, Guardia Civil, and town hall staff.

Political clash between Madrid and Andalusia

The controversy escalated when Transport Minister Óscar Puente, a Socialist, posted on X attacking the conservative Popular Party (PP) Andalusian government. He responded to PP secretary general Miguel Tellado, who had criticised the central government for insufficient resources. Puente wrote that the regional government 'not even once capable of sending the ES-Alert' and called Tellado a 'sinvergüenza'. The Socialist party's spokesperson Montse Mínguez also weighed in, asking why the alert was not activated again.

This shameless guy is blaming the Spanish Government for the Almería wildfire and its consequences? When they cut firefighting resources, which are their responsibility, and they are not capable ONCE AGAIN of sending the esalert!

Antonio Sanz shot back, saying the minister 'has no idea how ES-Alert works' and that the decision was purely technical, not political. He insisted that the alert would have 'caused even more damage'.

Evacuation efforts and victim behaviour

Door-to-door warnings reached residents, but many of the deceased ignored the instructions and attempted to flee by car along wrong roads. Sanz confirmed that 'they did not heed the warnings' and drove into dangerous areas. The regional president stressed that the local authorities did 'a prior job' of personal notification, which he considered more effective for this terrain.

Cause and aftermath

The fire may have originated from a fallen electric pylon, according to early hypotheses. Moreno said responsibility for the pylon maintenance would be investigated. However, the national grid operator, Red Eléctrica, denied that the affected high-voltage line belonged to it. The investigation is ongoing. Meanwhile, the fire has reignited a political debate over emergency coordination between Spain's central and regional governments.