British couple Emma and Simon Michell returned to the village of Bédar in Spain's Almeria province, where their home survived the devastating wildfire. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
The fire, which started on Thursday, killed at least 13 people, including five believed by Spanish authorities to be British. The toll rose on Sunday after a 93-year-old British woman died of her injuries in hospital. The identities of those killed have not yet been officially confirmed.
The fire has now been contained, but it burned through about 7,000 hectares (17,300 acres) of land. The flames were powered by winds of up to 50 km/h (31 mph).
Emma and Simon moved to Bédar three years ago, where they looked after 15 chickens and three dogs. They were among about 600 of the nearly 1,500 people evacuated who were told they could return on Sunday. Emma's eyes filled with tears as she described driving past friends' houses that had not survived.
The Michells said they had never been given clear instructions on how to flee in case of a fire. "Next time it would be good to get an alert on our phones. We get an alert for earthquakes that are 50 miles away but we don't get an alert for a fire that is a quarter of a kilometre away," Emma said.
Returning home, they found all the chickens alive, and power and water still working. The couple praised the local police and firefighters.
However, Emma was angry at local officials who said some people killed, including Britons, had not followed instructions. "You need to get your act sorted and please don't try and victim-blame afterwards. These people that died, they had no instructions to follow, they did the best they could in the circumstances they could and they paid the price," she said.
Local officials have said they did not issue an alert on Thursday night because it may have reached people beyond the affected area and could have complicated evacuations. Authorities also said police went door-to-door or telephoned residents with instructions.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit the devastated area of Los Gallardos on Monday. Local media reported that a British couple was found down a ravine, badly burned and semi-conscious, during the fire.