Angel Martin Arjona, 50, the owner of a construction warehouse in Tabara, was seen abandoning his digger after it was engulfed in flames and escaping with his clothes alight on July 18.
"Angel is better," he said. "The man is fighting. He's strong, he will recover but it is serious, very serious.The blaze, which started in Losacio, in the northwestern province of Zamora, on July 17 caused two deaths, left three people critically injured, including Arjona, and led to the temporary evacuation of 6,000 people from the area, authorities said.
Gesturing to the tracks Arjona's digger carved into the blackened stubble of the fields, Lozano said it was still not clear how he became caught in the fire. The trench he dug, though, served its purpose of sparing a group of homes and businesses, repair shops and a petrol station. "If it weren't for that ditch, possibly everything would be burnt," he said.