Exclusive by Jon Clarke
A BRITISH resident of Almeria has told the Olive Press how his girlfriend fled the lethal Gallardos fire – with just her two cats.
Cambridge native Peter Loveday, the ex-boss of Currencies Direct in Spain, explained how his girlfriend, Jo, somehow managed to bundle Maui and Tane in her car as the flames took hold of countryside near her home in Bedar.
“It was terrifying, and she watched the flames get nearer and nearer and eventually after half an hour, she realized she had to go.
“Soon afterwards, a lot more people in the village were also evacuated,” added the ex financier, from Cambridge, who relocated to Almeria 23 years ago.
“She knew the only important thing was her two cats, and she managed to get them into their carrying cases and got them in the car.
“She has brought literally nothing else with her but is just grateful to be alive.
“The tragedy here is that probably some people stuck around too long and maybe tried to get belongings when really the most important thing is to get out alive.”
He continued: “We have spoken to friends who told us that their houses and gardens have been destroyed and they have lost everything. But they are alive.”
It is the second time Jo has had to flee her home, which sits in countryside between Bedar and Los Gallardos, where the fire broke out yesterday.
Both she – and Peter – had to flee their separate homes in a terrible wildfire in 2012, that left Peter’s home almost burnt to the ground.
“It was terrible, but this is much worse as so many people have died,” he told The Olive Press this afternoon.
“It was so horrible seeing the videos this morning of burnt out cars stuck up dirt tracks with no exit.
“I know those roads well and I’m sure some of those people. A lot of them are expats and British. So far around a dozen are dead apparently.”
He added he had called the authorities to say they ‘safe’ staying in his new home in nearby Mojácar.
“Everyone has been asked to do that so they can take us off a list of those who might be missing.
“We have had dozens of messages all morning from people worried about loved ones or friends. We are monitoring the situation very closely.
“Looking out from my house now it looks like the fire is calming down, but still a lot of helicopters and planes are flying over so it must still be burning somewhere.”
The fire has killed at least 11 people and forced around 1,000 people from their homes since it broke out on Thursday afternoon.
The blaze began at 4.35pm on Thursday, July 9, near Almocaizar, a hamlet in the hills above Los Gallardos.
Guardia Civil investigators believe it was sparked by a fallen electrical cable, though this has not been confirmed.
Bedar resident Juanfran, who was out hunting near Cabezo Maria when the fire started, told the EFE news agency it became ‘a tongue of fire’ within two to three hours.
He said new spot fires were breaking out kilometres from the origin as strong, hot wind drove embers ahead of the main blaze.
The fire swept over the A-7 motorway between Antas and Los Gallardos, fed by tall scrubland and pine forest that produced thick black smoke from the first moments.
Los Gallardos and Bedar are inland villages in the hills behind Mojacar, the well-known British expat resort on the Almeria coast.
Click here to read more Andalucia News from The Olive Press.
