A married couple in their 50s were described as being in a "serious condition" in hospital after flames reached their chalet in Rosario, a quiet leafy development in the foothills above Marbella.
Elsewhere a mother and her two children sought refuge in a cave after being surrounded by flames while out walking.
The Foreign Office said "several hundred" Britons had been evacuated from the popular tourist area, including around 300 who had relocated to shelters.
Around 30 firefighting planes dropped water to quench the flames, which were fanned by warm dry winds. Witnesses described 50ft flames racing towards their homes.
The wildfire, which authorities believe may have been started deliberately, is thought to have originated in the Sierra Negra, near Coin and quickly spread across forest left tinderbox dry following a summer of high temperatures and low rainfall.
Resort towns including Mijas, Alhaurin el Grande and Ojen were threatened. Thick plumes of black smoke were visible along the coast and ash fell up to 20 miles from the fires themselves. In the town of Ojen roughly 3,000 residents were facing a second night away from their homes after authorities decided it was unsafe to return.
Authorities said it was impossible to put exact figures on the number of those evacuated but estimated that it was at least 5,000 in all.
The Foreign Office advised Britons to follow advice from local authorities or their tour operators. Johnny Gates, an expat resident of Marbella, described it as "the worst night in history on the Costa del Sol".
Spain has suffered its worst summer in more than a decade with wildfires destroying huge swathes of the countryside in a heatwave following one of the direst winters on record.
More than 153,000 hectares (378,000 acres) of land was destroyed by flames between January 1 and August 26, three times the amount during the same time last year and the highest amount in a decade, according to the latest agriculture ministry figures.
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