Only on Earth (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[flames crackling]

[burning wood hissing]

[crackling flames intensify]

[sizzling]

[radio host]

You've been working until 6 a.m.?

[San] Today? Yes.

Today I got home at 6:30 a.m.

after helping out with the firefighting

in the afternoon.

Our shift was extended

until we could leave.

[radio host]

What's the status of the fire

according to what you've observed

and verified?

[San] The perimeter is immense.

We knew from the get-go

that this was going to be a major fire

but on such a scale?

Nobody could have expected

one of this...

magnitude.

The fact is,

with this fire, I must admit,

we were all stunned by the amount

of animals coming out of the woods.

When they saw us firefighters at work,

they were so afraid of us

they went back into the flames.

[radio host] The wild animals?

[San] Yes. Wild boar, lynx,

deer, roe deer and others.

They'd rather go back into the fire

than come anywhere near humans.

-[radio host] Into the flames?

-[San] Yes, that's what I'm saying.

[wind whistling]

[eerie metallic humming]

-[Eva] Those wind turbines are so loud.

-[man] Especially when it's windy.

[eerie metallic humming continues]

-[man] Just listen to them.

-[Eva] Really impressive.

[turbines clatter and rumble]

When they're making the roads

for the wind turbines,

they leave no room for the horses.

They ruin everything.

-Did they go ahead with it?

-Yes, of course.

Unbelievable.

Look, way over there. I see one.

-[man] Are there any white ones?

-[Eva] No.

Many brown ones.

[man] There are two,

three, four, five six,

eight, nine, ten, 11, 12, 13...

-[Eva] See the little filly over there?

-[man] Yes, there she is.

Take a look.

They're heading further away.

[turbines continue humming]

It's getting foggier.

[Eva] It's all yellow. Really dry.

[man] Well, it's foggy here.

What would it look like otherwise?

Like the Sahara.

Here they are.

[motor revving]

-[Eva] We can see the white one now.

-From here, yes.

[crunching under vehicle]

[Eva] What a racket!

Our tires are going to blow out.

[crunching under vehicle]

[motor accelerates]

[crunch]

[Eva] When they hear the car,

they take off.

[man] Yeah.

[crunch]

[motor revving]

[birds chirping]

[chicken clucking]

-[horse snorts]

-[Pedro] Shh!

[hooves clunk on floor]

[Pedro whistles]

Here. Keep still.

Easy.

[Pedro grunts with effort]

[birdsong]

[crickets chirping]

[bird caws in distance]

[sheep and lambs bleating]

[bleating continues]

[sheepdog yapping]

[bleating continues]

[Cristina] Come on!

[door closes]

Come on. Come on.

[birdsong]

[voice on radio, indistinct]

[utensils clattering]

[kitten snarls]

[San on radio]

...one of the worst in Spain.

[radio host] How do you see

the future regarding fires,

not only in Galicia

but in all of Europe?

[San] The future?

Yes, it'll only get worse.

For sure.

It's tied to climate change of course.

No doubt about that.

A temperature increase of one degree C

generates 12% more lightning.

This is a documented fact.

When the atmosphere is more unstable

and combustibles more available,

there's a 12% increased possibility

of fire ignitions.

[radio host] In your opinion,

how can we better prepare

for future fires?

-[San] we must understand them.

-Understand them?

[San] Yes. There are fires

jumping 19 or more kilometers.

They cross highways.

They devour everything.

Do the chickens need to be fed,

or do they have food left?

[mother] I don't know.

[Cristina] I'll go and check.

And at Mr. David's place,

do they have enough to eat?

Poor him.

Everything's dried up, right?

They don't have any water,

for irrigation.

We have to water

the turnips and the corn.

-Want some more?

-I still have a little.

[chickens clucking]

[pigeon cooing]

[sheep bleating]

[ewe grunts]

[ewe bleats softly]

[lamb bleats]

[ewe and lamb bleat together]

[distant whistling]

[male voices yelling]

[rumble of hooves]

[whinnying]

[men yelling 'h*!']

[rumbling hooves grow louder]

[men yelling]

[rumbling hooves fade]

[horse snorting]

[horse snorts]

[men yelling 'h*!']

[thundering hooves]

[whinnying]

[gate clangs shut]

[men conversing, indistinct]

[many horses whinnying]

[whinnying]

[men conversing, indistinct]

[men yelling 'h*!']

[thundering hooves]

[conversing, indistinct]

[metallic clang]

[whinnying]

[conversing, indistinct]

[metallic clang]

[scuffling hooves]

[men yelling 'h*!']

[scuffling hooves]

[whinnying]

[men yelling]

[thundering hooves]

[man] Easy.

[horse snorts]

[breathing heavily]

[snipping]

[deep metallic hum]

[hum transforms

into eerie ambient drone]

[distant crackling]

[male over radio 1]

San, do you read me?

[male over radio 2]

Let's make sure everything's all right.

[San] Jorge, we're heading up.

It's looking good already.

Not much of a problem.

The cut down below is holding up.

The fire brigades are down there.

The firebreak goes all the way up

to the top of the ridge line.

The fire is heading up

to the burnt part

so I don't think it's going to escape

from the left... sorry, right side.

The thing is, there's a lot

of swirling fire and dust on the edge.

Which is odd. Right on the edge

of the southernmost area.

[male over radio 2] Okay.

We're here now,

where we left you earlier.

[fly buzzing]

[psychrometer rattling]

[screws on psychrometer lid]

[San] Fifty percent.

Up ten points.

[San] Forty percent humidity.

And the scrubland must be

up to 70-80%.

-Look at that color.

-[Jorge] It hasn't rained here.

[San] Not a single drop.

At the top of this mountain it's 28.8 C.

And now we're heading for Vern.

31-33 degrees

at this time of day is really high.

Everything's about to blow.

[Jorge] Damn it.

[San] It's all going up in smoke

because of the wind turbines.

Boom! All of it.

4,000... 3,000 hectares.

Okay.

[ringtone]

[San] There's very little risk

of re-ignition. Very little.

-The boss.

-What boss?

The manager. Hey, boss.

[crickets chirping]

[Pedro] Look.

Let's see if I can make it

stick up there.

Asier, stand next to me just in case.

-If it falls on you, get out the way.

-[Asier] Be careful.

[Pedro] Oh, it's falling on me!

Did you see that?

The stick almost k*lled me.

Let's try this one.

Careful!

[voice echoing] Echo, echo!

Park.

Look out!

[Asier] I'm bending a freaking tree!

It wasn't in Baiona. I looked it up.

I think it was in Baiona.

It was longer ago.

I was at my grandparents' house

and the smoke from it reached Madrid.

I saw it on the news.

But it wasn't near Baiona,

and it's arson, I know it was.

Me too.

Someone set the forest on fire.

[Pedro] I think the police saw him

but I'm not sure.

-Okay, bye.

-[Asier] You think?

[Pedro] Let's peel another tree.

Next one.

[clunk]

Good one, Asier. Really good.

Bullseye.

You can do it.

With the nearest one to me!

Super close, dude.

Oh, man.

We've got to get more stones.

You almost hit me.

Cool!

[Asier] Let's get out of here.

Run for your life, Pedro!

Run, Pedro, run!

Come on! Not so fast!

Wait for me!

-[Pedro] I found a huge stone!

-Wanna play?

Something else?

Wanna play something else?

[Pedro] Yeah, that game.

[Asier] The one with the donkeys?

The one at my place, the ball game?

[Pedro] Right.

[Pedro] Run!

[eerie drone of wind turbines]

[eerie drone continues]

[chorus of creaking metal]

[eerie drone continues]

[deep swooshing]

[bassy rumble underneath drone]

[deep swooshing]

[blades whirring]

[ringtone]

[Eva] Hello?

-[female voice] Hello. It's Eva, right?

-Yes.

I'm calling because...

I'd like you to look at my horse again,

the one you saw last time.

She has a bad...

a bad cold.

Does she have a lot of mucus?

No, no mucus. She has a cough.

-A cough. Okay.

-A cough.

-I'd like you to take a look.

-I'll try to come today or tomorrow.

To look at her?

Okay, no problem.

It'll probably be tomorrow, okay?

[beeping on line]

What's up with the phone?

It keeps beeping.

[beeping continues]

Well, I'll call you tomorrow.

Don't worry.

-Okay.

-Okay, great. Bye.

See you tomorrow. Thank you. Bye.

[ends call]

[blowing softly]

Easy, now.

Easy. There you go.

Good girl.

[horse stamps hoof]

Shh. Hey, hey.

-[Eva] How old is she?

-[Mingos] Eight, I think.

Ruben knows, but I think she's eight.

[Eva] She's young.

[whispering] Okay...

-What do you do, Mingos?

-I work for the Community Forestry.

-The one here?

-In O Rosal, yes.

O Rosal? What do you do?

A bit of everything. Drive the tractor,

keep goats, clear the undergrowth...

To prevent fires?

Exactly.

[horse snorts]

It's so scary. I'm terrified of fire.

[furnace roaring]

[roaring stops]

[hissing]

[sizzling]

They've been living in the mountains

for thousands of years.

And although they live in the wild

with very little human influence,

they are in fact subjected

to a traditional management system

which involves

gathering them once a year

and performing what is called curros.

These curros represent

an enormous cultural value for Galicia.

Another thing.

The horses here make up the largest

population of wild horses in Europe.

Approximately 10,000 animals.

But there were 22,000 of them

70 years ago.

Can you imagine?

The decrease is dramatic.

I was casting a glance...

Look to see

if there are any other horses

because we're in one of the areas

where you can see them.

-To the left we have a few.

-[female passenger] In front.

Well, another characteristic is that,

although horses are considered...

In English, they're called "grazers"

because they graze, eat grass.

These horses are from Galicia,

the north of Portugal,

from the northwestern Iberian Peninsula.

They are capable of feeding

on bushy vegetation.

They can eat shrubs.

And one of their main food sources

is gorse.

If you're Galician,

you know what gorse is, right?

A very thorny shrub

that they are capable of eating.

Gorse is very flammable.

And that takes us

to what I'll explain next.

[harsh scraping]

[grunts]

[snap]

[grunts]

[snap]

[Jorge] From eight in the morning

'till eight the next day.

-[San] It's 12 hours.

-It's 24 hours, San.

When you're on duty

your shift is 24 hours.

[San] Last Tuesday

I was on duty for 24 hours?

[Jorge] Exactly,

24 plus 24 equals 48.

[San] We work 150 hours

in two weeks?

More than an entire unit in one month?

It can't be!

[Jorge] I'm telling you,

shifts are 24 hours, San.

You still don't like Msia, do you?

-She's not bad.

-What?

-But it's not traditional fado.

-She was never a traditional fadista.

For me, traditional fado is unbearable.

Sure, but she sings with Iggy Pop.

She's a remarkable singer.

I've wanted to see her all my life.

I drove 300 km or even more.

Round trip. Just to see her.

Spectacular.

Msia?

She's an incredible singer.

And the setting at Costa de la Muerte

with the Abalar Rock on your left

and the lighthouse on your right!

We're talking about the roughest sea

on the entire Iberian Peninsula.

And that woman... It felt like

the sea stopped in its tracks.

The sea went silent to let her be heard.

Flat water.

-It was calm?

-It didn't move.

Calm.

This is her.

[tinny music playing on phone]

[guitar plays dramatic power chord]

[Msia sings in dramatic fado style]

[sings soulfully over minor chord]

[dog howling in distance]

[male over radio] Benigno, here.

I'm off. See you tomorrow.

[female over radio]

Roger that. See you tomorrow.

Dammit.

[wind blows softly]

[horse whinnies in distance]

[champing teeth]

[ripping up grass]

[chewing]

[roar of motor]

[Cristina] Okay, perfect!

[motor stops]

It's perfect there.

Mom, over here!

[dog yapping]

[fly buzzing]

[chicken clucking]

[Father] Bring the nozzle.

[Cristina] I'll bring it on this side.

[clattering]

[gushing water]

[shears snipping]

[woman] The reservoirs...

They've never been this low before.

[Cristina] The other day

I was checking...

They say it won't rain

until October 15th.

Not before.

[woman] This looks bad.

-Here.

-Thanks.

[meows]

[female voices conversing, indistinct]

[Cristina] Come on!

[rumble of hooves]

[metallic screech]

[loud clang]

[male over radio 1]

Juan Carlos, do you copy?

Your turn.

[male over radio 2]

Juan Carlos here.

Dad got them all.

[male over radio 1]

Roger that, Juan Carlos.

A good one.

[radio beeps]

They're mine!

[chuckling]

I only know how to play Brisca.

Last ones, Dad.

No one wants them.

The discarded ones.

Let's see.

-Same suit as before?

-Yes.

What a disaster!

-By only one card!

-Dad wins!

[cow lowing in distance]

[sheep bleating]

[fire truck motor idling]

[voices conversing, indistinct]

[voice over radio, indistinct]

[hose hissing loudly]

[Cristina] Okay, let's move forward.

Quickly! Hurry up!

[water squelching on wet soil]

[Cristina] If there's any smoke

remaining, let me know, okay?

-[male firefighter] Here, Cristina!

-Keep it up!

[voices over radio, indistinct]

[hot earth sizzling]

[wind whistling]

[dog barking]

[soft birdsong]

[Pedro] He won't come loose, Asier!

No, he won't.

[Pedro] Go on.

He won't come loose, right?

Do you want a hand?

[horse snorts]

Come on.

-He won't hurt you.

-No!

This way, then. Look.

He's tame.

This is the way to do it.

Place it somewhere on him

and try not to move.

Hold it like this

and push your thumb here, see?

You do this part.

Like that.

Until it looks like this.

Then you put the conditioner on.

Closer, don't be afraid of the horse!

Do I continue with his leg or here?

No, over here. Not his leg.

One.

Again.

Harder!

Very good.

Do it here, now.

Do his neck now.

Or do you want me to do it?

Okay.

[harsh scraping]

[grunts with effort]

[Pedro] Maybe it's a bit hard for you

because you gotta be pretty strong.

I am, 'cos I ride a lot.

-Harder! Go closer!

-Stop it! Don't push me!

Get close like this

and press good and hard.

Man, when I was three,

I would get up close to his leg.

I didn't care if he kicked me.

[Pedro] You have to do it really fast.

[hose hissing]

[horse snorts]

[stamps hoof twice]

[Pedro] No, no!

Get up!

What the hell?

Filthy!

There, for example.

Did you hear it?

What the f*ck?

What is it?

He makes noise there,

and then you hear it over there.

[imitates horse]

I'm great at sounding like a horse.

-Really?

-[Pedro whinnies]

You sure are.

I've been practicing

since I was little.

-I'm terrible at it.

-Do it!

-No!

-[Pedro whinnies]

Ouch!

[chorus of whinnying]

[whinnying intensifies]

[male voices yelling, indistinct]

[thundering hooves]

[men yelling, indistinct]

[men whistling]

[thundering hooves continue]

[men shouting 'h*!']

[whinnying]

[thundering hooves grow louder]

[men yelling, indistinct]

[whinnying]

[snorting]

[thundering hooves continue]

[Pedro] That one?

[foals whinnying at higher pitch]

[clamor of voices, indistinct]

[man 1]

Come on now! Take the fair one!

-Take that filly, number 44!

-[man 2] Not this one, the other one.

[man 2] The other one!

[man 1]

Dude, come on, now!

[man 2] Boy, Pedro,

you've really grown a pair!

Ah! Your hat is neat!

[man 1] Get her, for God's sake!

Too slow!

[foals whinnying]

[man 2] What are you waiting for?

[young boy] Hey, hey!

[man 2] Go on!

-[Pedro] Where is she?

-Here, for God's sake.

This one?

[rumbling hooves continue in distance]

[whinnying]

[distant crackling]

[insects chirping]

[flames roaring]

[crackle of burning scrub]

[neighbor 1] It didn't burn up there.

It's on the other hill.

[neighbor 2]

The helicopter's on its way up.

[neighbor 1]

Won't make any difference.

It can't be extinguished.

[roar of helicopters]

[neighbor 1] Look at that chopper.

Look what they're doing! Oh, my God.

[neighbor 3] Here they come.

Here they are! About time!

[roar of helicopters continues]

[neighbor 1]

Where will it dump the water?

[neighbor 3] Nothing, man.

-[neighbor 4] Here comes another one.

-[neighbor 3] Not a drop.

[neighbor 1]

That one's going the same way.

[fire truck siren in distance]

[dog barking]

[neighbor 1]

It's being dropped. Finally!

They're dumping the water now.

[neighbor 2] This fire

really scares the hell out of me.

[neighbor 1] Look!

It's headed for my piece of land.

That helicopter!

[neighbor 4] Where's it going?

They're circling around.

[neighbor 1] There on the hill! See?

The fire reignited

all the way up there at the top.

What a bunch of b*stards!

These fires were tiny this morning.

They could have put it out!

Now look at the mess

they made again! Dammit!

I went to Fonte Vella

and they weren't doing much yet.

They beat it by hand with shovels!

Just like that!

And now it's started up again!

Why? Because they stood there watching

instead of putting out the fire!

They were there at Luis' place.

A brigade by the road

doing nothing at all. Not a damn thing!

The fire was at his doorstep!

[roar of helicopters]

[crackle of burning wood]

[deep rumble]

[roaring]

[aircraft zooms overhead]

[cacophony of rumbles and roars]

[eerie metallic drone]

We're doing a five-hour fire perimeter.

I'll send it over when it's done.

It's an estimation.

Later we'll figure out what maneuvers

to adjust, but the potential one...

For now it's being restrained

by the Fresca firewall.

The Lombo firebreak.

There's a firebreak that descends

perpendicularly. We'll check it out.

We'll probably have to intervene

so take a look, get as close as you can.

Get into position,

make your analysis and I'll come to you.

Very well.

[siren blaring]

Careful, Jorge.

[San] Come on, man!

Pull over, dammit!

[motor accelerating]

I'll write it down, real damn fast.

[crackle of burning wood]

[roaring]

[San] The left flank appears

to be the most active.

[siren blaring]

[helicopter whooshes overhead]

The fire is right behind us. It doesn't

look like it's gonna stop spreading.

Over.

[male over radio]

What did you say, San?

Do you read me?

Can you repeat that, please?

I'm talking about the cut we're making

on the left side from top to back.

We need to get

a couple of people in there

because the fire is moving fast.

It could jump right over.

[excavator tracks screeching]

[splintering wood]

[cacophony of motors and sirens]

[male over radio] Come in.

Should we intervene on the right?

[excavator clattering]

[San] Hey! Hey!

Hey!

There are secondary hotspots

on the other side!

There are secondary hotspots

on the other side.

[radio chatter]

[male over radio] I already asked

for air support for the left flank.

The left flank area.

[San] We're on our own.

[roaring intensifies]

We can't see a thing.

[male over radio]

It's getting complicated.

[girl] There's so much fire.

Look at those cars coming from there.

[boy 1] Must have been scared.

They must have been covered

in dust and ashes.

-[boy 2] It's coming closer, isn't it?

-[boy 1] You bet.

[girl] The wind is blowing it this way.

[boy 2] If I see a single flame,

I'm out of here.

[boy 1] Who cares about the bikes?

-[boy 2] I'll make mine go faster.

-[boy 1] You're right.

[boy 1] Leave one bird alive, at least.

[wind whistling]

[boy 2] No! Look!

[girl] Ashes.

[boy 2] I got some in my eye!

[girl] Yeah, there's smoke everywhere.

[boy 1] It smells.

[boy 2] It smells

like Grandpa's barbecue.

-[girl] They're going to evacuate us.

-[boy 1] Yeah.

[boy 1] Hey!

The cables are burning! Look!

[girl] That's why they cut the power.

[boy 1] Right. That's why.

[truck engine revving]

[plane screeching]

[siren wailing]

[ominous metallic drone playing]

[metallic drone intensifies]

[hard wind blows]

[trees rustling]

[radio host]

What did you notice about the birds?

[San] Well, it's not.

Actually birds are fast enough.

But the problem with birds,

as with other animals, is subsidence.

Basically, the descending smoke

might catch them by surprise

and then they won't be able

to fly away.

A fire can take animals by surprise,

but not just them. Us, cars...

It can burn 8,000 hectares an hour.

Eight thousand!

I'm not kidding.

So, the animals,

at 16 km an hour,

some aren't fast enough to escape.

[earth sizzling]

[wind blowing softly]

[haunting rumble in distance]

[wind whistling]

[exhales]

[hooves clatter on hard floor]

[whinnying]

[hooves bang against door]

[breathing deeply]

[furious roaring]

[crackle of burning wood]

[roaring intensifies]

[excavator screeching]

[motor revving]

[grunts]

[splintering wood]

[crackling flames]

[sparks popping]

[deep roar]

[Cristina] The wind is so strong.

[San] It's unstoppable.

-Let's go.

-Yeah, let's go.

[loud crackling]

[metal blade slicing]

[coughs]

[grunts]

[trees popping from heat]

[wind blowing]

[San] The flash point

is climbing to 30%.

Relative humidity is down to 65%,

that's why.

Holy crap, the transfer rate is high.

It's like 3.9 km/h.

This is getting pretty complicated.

Let's see now. Holy crap.

The relative humidity is plummeting.

The flash point is up to 30%.

We have no choice but to go down

to the road and cut off the fire.

A direct attack down here

is out of the question.

Not with just simple shovels.

[Cristina] We can't get in here.

We have to go get the fire truck.

-[San] It's circling us from behind.

-[Cristina] Yes.

[San] Let's go to that burned area,

back there.

We can't let it surround us.

We have a good escape route

but we need to move.

-Slowly but surely.

-Okay.

[wind picks up]

[deep roaring]

[footsteps through bushes]

[distant crackling]

[trees popping from heat]

[breeze blows softly]

[dog barking]

[smaller dog barks back]

[motor revving]

[chewing loudly]

[chewing]

[wind blows softly]

[insect's feet scratching bark]

You've been fighting fires

for over 32 years.

In what ways have today's fires

changed from the past?

Well, fires...

have changed gradually.

There's been a kind of a leap.

Their increased propagation speed,

intensity, power, erratic behavior,

is now substantially different.

One of the most surprising things is

the change in the sound of these fires.

They sound different, they roar.

It's another sound.

Totally different.

By the way,

I heard you call them... beasts?

Right. The behavior of some fires

is like a burning beast.

They ravage everything.

-The noise they make is not the same.

-Which means?

They roar.

Their sound is a roar.

-Do you ever get scared?

-Of course. Very much.

With 40-meter flames coming at you,

how could you not be afraid?

[car drives past in distance]

[breathes softly]

[hooves drumming on hard ground]

[whinnying]

[hubbub of voices]

[musician plays Galician bagpipes]

[clatter of glassware]

[Galician bagpipes continue]

[smoothing down suit]

[mother] There. Good.

[Photographer] Look as serious

as the pros in the magazines.

-Know what I mean?

-Yes.

It's a very cool pose.

And when I ask you to look at me,

then you smile, okay?

Then we get two pictures in one.

One like a pro and one with a smile.

-It's great, dude!

-[shutter clicking]

That's my way of tricking you guys.

But you'll get it later.

So now, take the reins

like you're about to gallop.

But don't move, okay?

There you go.

[shutter clicking]

We get super cool pictures,

holding the reins.

-Like that?

-Great!

[shutter clicking]

-Now pet him like before.

-Here, like this?

At the top of the mane.

-Where does he like to be pet?

-On the neck.

[shutter clicking]

He also likes to have his head pet.

[Photographer]

Remember the photos we took earlier?

I had to redo them because I didn't

get Rubio's hooves in the picture.

You'd have k*lled me, wouldn't you,

if I hadn't gotten them right.

So I have pictures with him cut off

and other full shots of you. How's that?

Now, look over there

toward the antenna.

That's it, turn your body.

Looks great.

-[shutter clicking]

-Right, Mom?

Look that way, toward the antennas.

Is the sun bothering you?

Just a little.

[shutter clicking]

No, no, don't leave!

Stay there and just look that way.

Can you turn around

and come back to where you were?

It was perfect, man.

Giddy up.

Oh, they're awesome.

There you go. That's so cool, man!

Pedro, I want you to look...

Great, look that way,

at the ones over there.

[shutter clicking]

[sheep bleats]

[dog barking]

[second dog barking]

[sheep bleats]

[splashing water]

[spray-bottle hisses]

[wind blows]

[loud thunderclap]

[raindrops splashing]

[rumble of thunder]

[rain clattering on roof]

[trees rustling]

[eerie metallic drone]

[eerie metallic drone intensifies]

[metallic drone accompanied

by deep creaking]

[drone transforms

into haunting ambient score]

[haunting ambient score continues]

[discordant orchestral tones

over ambient score]

[ambient score incorporates

roaring fire and rumbling turbines]

[music fades]