The deadly wildfire in south-eastern Spain came within four kilometres of the home of an expat family from Caithness.
Brian and Lorna Cormack, along with Lorna’s son Danny Hitchin, watched on from their villa as two nearby villages were surrounded by flames higher than the buildings.
If they had been told to leave, they would have had only half an hour to evacuate – but Brian said their main concern had been for those directly in the path of the blaze.
The BBC reported at the weekend that around a dozen people had lost their lives around the village of Bédar, with another 23 still missing.
Brian and Lorna moved from Thurso to start a new life in Turre, a town in the Almería province of Andalusia, after appearing on the Channel 4 TV series A Place in the Sun four years ago.
Speaking on Saturday, Brian said: “The fire was probably at its worst on Thursday afternoon and evening. It got to around 4km from us but as it was travelling at around 8km an hour that would only have given us half an hour to evacuate.
“The local authorities must have been confident Turre was safe as they set up an evacuation point and emergency centre at the bottom of our hill.
“If the wind direction had changed we would have been worried, as it was travelling quite fast, but ultimately we were more concerned for the people who were in the fire’s pathway.
“As our villa is on the edge of the campo we had a clear view of the fire and could see it surround two local villages, El Pinar and Bédar. The flames were higher than the buildings.
“Unfortunately 11 people from Bédar perished while escaping – apparently they turned down a dry river bed into a dead end and couldn’t get out. They have just found two British tourists today that were out hiking, semi-conscious but badly burnt.
“We were watching from our veranda but we had to go inside when the wind changed direction and was blowing the smoke directly onto us. Our outside area was covered in ash the next morning.
“Fortunately the wind had changed direction again and diverted the fire away from us.”
He added: “The fire is still active but mostly under control now. During the worst of the fire there were 11 helicopters and nine planes along with over 100 firefighters.
“It seems to be small pockets of fire now that are getting targeted. The planes were flying over our villa to refill with water from the Mediterranean Sea, about 10km from the fires.”
A heatwave with temperatures of around 40C has led to wildfires across southern Europe, with dry ground and strong winds exacerbating the situation.
The head of the Andalusia regional government described it as an “unprecedented tragedy”.
Brian (62) and Lorna (61) are both retired. Brian worked as a facility supervisor at Dounreay, while Lorna was a safety case coordinator at Vulcan.
They moved to Turre in the summer of 2022 after featuring on A Place in the Sun. The couple put in a bid for the fifth property they viewed and the offer was accepted.
Since then they have carried out a series of renovations and installed solar panels that have reduced their electricity costs to zero for most of the year.
“We are really enjoying our retirement and couldn’t think of a better place to spend it,” Brian said.
Lorna and 30-year-old Danny are both in the Spanish bowling squad and Lorna will be representing Spain in the European championship in Wales in September.
Brian, a former president of Thurso Bowling Club, says he has now retired from bowls and is focusing on darts. He has represented Andalusia in the Spanish national championships and has been runner-up in the Almería championships.
The episode of A Place in the Sun featuring Brian and Lorna can still be viewed on the Channel 4 on-demand service. It was first broadcast in July 2022.
