A local honey producer can be found on a hillside near the remote village of a rural settlement.
He points to the precise spot where a thunderbolt struck a few days prior, sparking a wildfire with disastrous results.
"This season has been a calamity for me personally, but also for regional agriculturists and all residents in this area," he states. "At 47 years old and I've never witnessed a fire that violent."
Ultimately consuming in excess of 20,000 acres of land and causing thousands of people to be relocated from villages in this rural corner of Spain's northwest.
But it was just one among many vast blazes which have heavily impacted Spain this season, burning 0.8% of the country's surface area.
The worst-hit regions were situated in the northwestern quadrant, including the provinces of Castilla y León and Galicia, plus the western region of a pastoral territory.
Consequences for Apiculture
Beekeeping, which is an significant industry in countryside north-west Spain, was one of the primary victims of the summer.
Thankfully, his own colonies are unharmed, because the fire ceased just a short distance away from the plots where he maintains them.
"I estimate that this year I'm going to miss out on 50% of my honey production, without a doubt, because of the fires, and the subsequent year the same, or even more severe," the apiarist says.
The absence of material damage to his hives means he does not qualify for insurance.
He is contemplating moving many of them to different areas, in the expectation of enhancing the bees' odds of survival and reducing his future losses.
Cattle Ranchers Similarly Harmed
A great number of livestock farmers have also been obliged to move their animals in the last month, both to escape fires and to make certain they can access untouched pasture.
"The situation was dire for farmers [this summer], it was an endless cycle of infernos," says a rancher from a small community.
His losses include around 30 livestock this summer, most recently having to put down 11 animals which had experienced severe burns.
"The situation has had a big monetary impact, but the largest impact of all is that we can't sleep at night," he notes. "It is a constant tension."
While farmers look forward to receive insurance payments, he believes there will be a ripple cost.
"Compensation might arrive, but next year, instead of costing us, for example, €5,000, insurance premiums will amount to €10,000 or €15,000," he warns. "Because insurance companies aim not to lose money."
Financial Toll and Visitor Sector Losses
An agricultural representative body estimated in August that the industry had incurred damages worth at least €600m.
The largest costs have been destroyed fields and properties and fatalities of animals.
Another main economic sufferer of this summer's fires has been tourism, which accounts for 13% of Spanish GDP.
Although most of the seaside regions that are tourism avoided fires this summer, the southern province of a coastal zone was an exception.
And this summer's main wildfire zones, in the west and north-west, have fostered rural tourism in the past few years.
Sanabria Lake, the greatest glacial lake in the Iberian peninsula, is a major local landmark.
Yet the advance of the fire that began in the locality in August caused it to be shut down.
"In August, this area was at full capacity in terms of tourism," says Miguel Ángel Martos. "However, on 18 August, it fell to 10% of capacity."
For tourists this was inconvenient. But for many inhabitants it spelled financial catastrophe.
"The administration has said it will pay me €5,500," he remarks, with irony. "It will be necessary to come up with some other kind of compensation because I didn't want to close, they forced me to."
Wider Social Impact
The past few months has emphasized the now-infamous gap between urban and rural Spain.
Years of relocation from rural areas to metropolises means that 90% of the Spanish population now inhabits just 30% of its country.
The remainder has become known as "empty Spain", where a scattered population has often voiced discontent about a shortage of infrastructure.
The fires, which have been particularly difficult to manage this year, only worsen that discontent.
"It's hard enough as it is to survive because of the expense of animal feed and fuel – every day it's more challenging for farmers to make ends meet," he says. "In addition, this takes place."
