The harbour area at Santander, Cantabria, Spain. All of the wharves, piers and jetties are of timber construction and a large number of people are standing on the jetty facing out into the Bay of Santander. The harbour road is backed by a line of four and five storey buildings. All of this area was devastated by a disastrous fire which broke out on 15 February 1941 and, fanned by a strong southeast wind accompanied by an intense atmospheric depression, continued throughout 16 February but subsided when the wind dropped. The fires were not finally extinguished until 3 March and firefighters from as far away as Madrid attended the conflagration. Over 400 large buildings and 2000 homes were destroyed covering an area of 14 hectares.