This guide answers one question: when and where in your region you may light a fire — burn pruning cuttings, cook on the paellero in the garden of an urbanización, cook in a recreational area — and when you may not. What to do when the forest is already burning is covered in the guide on wildfires; here only the rules before a fire. Four regions where most of our readers live: Comunitat Valenciana, Andalucía, Comunidad de Madrid and Catalonia. Official sources only: BOE, DOGV, BOJA, the portals of the Junta de Andalucía, the Comunidad de Madrid and the Generalitat de Catalunya. Where we did not read the text of a rule, we say so. Other hazards — in the guides on floods and DANA and on cold and snow.
In 60 seconds: the essentials
- National minimum (Ley 43/2003, art. 48.6). When AEMET or the regional weather service forecasts muy alto or extremo danger, the region must immediately ban fire in any open space, suspend all quema permits, ban fire in roadside rest areas, recreational and camping areas, even equipped ones, machinery in the forest and in a 400 m strip, pyrotechnics and throwing burning objects.
- Comunitat Valenciana (Decreto 91/2023). The rules apply in the forest and in the Zona de Influencia Forestal — up to 500 m from it. Burning vegetal waste is banned from 1 June to 15 October inclusive, unless there is an approved plan local de quemas, and at Easter — Jueves Santo plus 11 days. Cooking over fire only in prepared and authorised places. On a nivel 3 day, no fire at all in the forest and within 500 m of it.
- Andalucía (Orden de 21 de mayo de 2009, permanent). From 1 June to 15 October inclusive, a ban on any fire in the forest and in the Zonas de Influencia Forestal, up to 400 m, including cooking in equipped recreational areas; exceptions only with prior authorisation.
- Comunidad de Madrid. Época de peligro alto — from 15 June to 30 September; medio — from 16 May to 14 June and from 1 to 31 October; bajo — from 1 November to 15 May. A cooking fire in the forest and the surrounding strip is banned all year outside authorised places; in the forest and in a 400 m strip fire is banned, pyrotechnics only with authorisation.
- Catalonia (Decret 64/1995). From 15 March to 15 October any activity with fire risk closer than 500 m to the forest needs a permit; from 16 October to 14 March a notification is enough. Burning agricultural and forestry vegetal waste is banned as a general rule across all of Spain (Ley 7/2022, art. 27.3). Around an urbanización, a protection strip of at least 25 m.
- Dates are for a year, not forever. A region may tighten the periods by order; Madrid states outright that the dates «podrán modificarse por orden del Consejero». Before you strike a match, the current year's order on the regional website.
The national floor: Ley 43/2003 de Montes
The forestry law sets no dates or distances for the whole country — it hands that to the regions. Art. 44.3: «Las comunidades autónomas regularán en montes y áreas colindantes el ejercicio de todas aquellas actividades que puedan dar lugar a riesgo de incendio», and separately «las medidas de seguridad en las zonas de interfase urbano-forestal», that is, exactly where urbanizaciones stand. Regional plans set «las épocas de mayor riesgo de incendios forestales debidamente territorializadas» (art. 48.4.b). So there is no single calendar, and asking "can you burn branches in Spain" is pointless — only "can I in my region, today".
What the law does require everywhere:
- Everyone must report a fire (art. 45): whoever notices a forest fire starting must inform the competent authority or the emergency services. How to do it and what follows — in the guide on wildfires.
- Minimum on a muy alto or extremo forecast (art. 48.6): when AEMET or the regional weather service gives that forecast, the region «deberá aplicar inmediatamente» a ban on «encender fuego en todo tipo de espacios abiertos», the suspension of all quema permits granted, a ban on fire «en las áreas de descanso de la red de carreteras, así como en zonas recreativas y de acampada, incluidas las zonas habilitadas para ello», a ban on machinery and equipment in the forest and in rural areas in a 400 m strip, a ban on bringing in and using pyrotechnics and on throwing burning objects.
Fines under the forestry law
- Breaching the art. 48 bans is always an infracción grave (art. 48.8), from 1,001 to 100,000 € (art. 74.b). If the damage to the forest takes more than 6 months to repair, muy grave, from 100,001 € to 1 million € (art. 74.c).
- Using fire in the forest and adjoining areas «en las condiciones, épocas, lugares o para actividades no autorizadas» (art. 67.d) and breaching the rules on the use of fire (art. 67.e) are infractions in their own right. Without damage to the forest, or with damage repairable within 6 months or costing less than 10,000 €, it is leve (art. 68.3.a), from 100 to 1,000 € (art. 74.a).
- Regions may define their own infractions and raise the penalties (art. 48.9). We did not read the regional amounts for this guide and do not cite them — except one Catalan fine below, taken from the Generalitat page.
The only national distance is 400 m, and only for machinery
In Ley 43/2003 the 400 m strip appears once — for machinery and equipment on a muy alto or extremo forecast (art. 48.6.d). Every other distance in this guide — 500 m in Valencia and Catalonia, 400 m in Andalucía and Madrid, the 25 m protection strip in Catalonia — is regional. Do not carry them from one region to another.
Comunitat Valenciana: Decreto 91/2023
Which rule applies and where
The current regulation is Decreto 91/2023, the reglamento of Ley 3/1993 forestal, published in the DOGV in July 2023; the GVA Medi Ambient page lists it, together with the corrección de errores of December 2023, as the rule in force. If an old 112 CV page refers you to Decreto 98/1995, that is the previous version; do not take article numbers from it.
The rules apply in the forest and in the Zona de Influencia Forestal: under the annex to the Decreto, the agricultural land adjoining the forest «hasta una distancia máxima de 500 metros». An urbanización plot next to a pine slope is almost certainly inside that strip.
What is always banned (art. 132.1)
The general rule: «Queda prohibido, como medida de precaución general, encender fuego en los terrenos forestales y en la Zona de Influencia Forestal, fuera de los supuestos expresamente previstos o autorizados». Named separately:
- throwing cigarette butts and launching «globos chinos, farolillos voladores» — sky lanterns (art. 132.1.a);
- lighting a fire to cook or keep warm «fuera de los lugares preparados y autorizados al efecto» (art. 132.1.b);
- launching rockets and pyrotechnics outside registered sites (art. 132.1.e);
- burning field margins and edges closer than 50 m to the forest — all year (art. 132.1.f);
- burning agricultural and forestry vegetal waste «durante el periodo comprendido entre el 1 de junio y el 15 de octubre, ambos inclusive, salvo que esta actividad se contemple en un plan local de quemas» (art. 132.1.g).
At Easter a separate ban window on burning applies: Jueves Santo and 11 more days (art. 132.2). The region may tighten the periods by resolution (art. 137.1) — hence the advice to check the current year's order.
Burning waste out of season: permit or declaración responsable
Outside the period from 1 June to 15 October, burning in the Zona de Influencia Forestal needs an express permit (art. 133.1.g and 133.1.h), and for small holdings a declaración responsable (art. 134.1.a). Festive bonfires closer than 100 m to the forest go by declaración responsable (art. 134.1.b); at 100 m or further, none is needed (art. 135.1.c).
Garden waste is a separate story. The Decreto (art. 131) refers the burning of garden waste to the limits of Ley 7/2022 on waste — what art. 27.3 of that law says, see the Catalonia section. The 112 CV page for urbanizaciones puts it plainly: «no está permitido quemar los restos de jardín». Practical conclusion: pruning branches go to collection or the punto limpio, not into a bonfire.
Nivel 3: the day when nothing is allowed
112 CV publishes the nivel de preemergencia daily for 7 zones of the region: nivel 1 — peligrosidad baja-media, nivel 2 — alta, nivel 3 — extrema. On a nivel 3 day, under art. 139.1, «queda prohibido en general encender cualquier tipo de fuego en terrenos forestales y en la Zona de Influencia Forestal» and «quedarán en suspenso todos los usos permitidos» — that is, your quema permit does not apply that day. Forest tracks may be closed (art. 139.3).
The strip around an urbanización is not measured by the Decreto
Art. 145 of Decreto 91/2023 refers the requirements for urbanizaciones to planning and fire-prevention rules and does not name the width of the protection strip. The figures found on the old 112 CV page belong to the previous version. So we do not name a width: what your comunidad must do and what you must do on your own plot, ask at the ayuntamiento. The general duties of an urbanización are in the wildfire guide.
Andalucía: the permanent order of 2009
This is the simplest case: the Orden de 21 de mayo de 2009 (BOJA núm. 102) is a permanent order, not reissued every year; the Junta portal confirms it «tiene carácter permanente». Art. 1: «Se prohíbe, del 1 de junio al 15 de octubre de cada año, ambos inclusive ... el uso del fuego en los terrenos forestales ... así como en las Zonas de Influencia Forestal». The Zona de Influencia Forestal, per the Junta portal, is «terrenos no forestales (agrícolas y urbanos) situados a menos de 400 metros de los forestales».
Cooking is covered too: point 3 of art. 1 bans «encender fuego para la preparación de alimentos o cualquier otra finalidad, incluidas las áreas de descanso de la red de carreteras, y las zonas recreativas y de acampada, aun estando habilitadas para ello» — an equipped recreational area does not save you in summer. The same dates close off-road travel by motor vehicles (art. 5.1).
Exceptions only with prior authorisation (art. 2): barbecues in tourist accommodation and rural restaurants, youth camps, traditional stills and charcoal making. The application is filed at least 30 days ahead (art. 3.1); the decision comes within 15 days, and the administration's silence counts as a favourable answer (art. 3.8).
Comunidad de Madrid: three danger periods
The Comunidad de Madrid sede divides the year into three periods: alto — from 15 June to 30 September; medio — from 16 May to 14 June and from 1 to 31 October; bajo — from 1 November to 15 May. The same page warns that the dates «podrán modificarse por orden del Consejero». The INFOMA 2026 campaign set the same dates for peligro alto — from 15 June to 30 September; for the following year, check the current year's INFOMA page.
What applies all year per the same sede: it is banned to «utilizar fuego para cocinar o calentarse, salvo en los casos que se autorice» — with a reference to Decreto 58/2009, anexo 2, punto 2.2.3. In marked spots inside recreational areas fire is allowed in época de peligro bajo, «siempre y cuando no medie prohibición expresa».
INFOMA 2026 reminds of the rest:
- a ban on fire «en terreno forestal y una franja de 400 metros circundantes»;
- rockets and pyrotechnics need an «autorización expresa» with safety measures;
- in the medio and alto periods, spark-generating machinery in the 400 m strip only with a specific authorisation;
- owners must «revisar el estado de la vegetación de las parcelas de su propiedad, y proceder al desbroce preventivo de una franja perimetral» before peligro alto begins — the width of the strip is not given; vegetal waste goes to a vertedero autorizado or punto limpio.
Permits for burning waste are processed through the Comunidad de Madrid sede, with separate forms for the bajo and medio periods.
Catalonia: a permit from 15 March to 15 October
The permit season
Under Decret 64/1995, any activity with fire risk closer than 500 m to the forest — a bonfire, a barbecue outside authorised places, pyrotechnics — needs an autorització from the Generalitat from 15 March to 15 October; from 16 October to 14 March the comunicació regime applies — notifying is enough. Within the season the Generalitat singles out the period from 15 June to 15 September as a time of high danger. We did not read the text of the Decret itself — everything comes from the interior.gencat.cat and agricultura.gencat.cat pages.
Barbecues: what is allowed all year
- A gas stove and a built barbecue with a spark arrester — mesh no larger than 4×4 mm — are allowed all year in recreational areas and on urbanización plots that have the right infrastructure (art. 15a of Decret 64/1995, per the Generalitat page).
- A barbecue inside a closed building with four walls and a protected flue — also all year.
- Everything else closer than 500 m to the forest — by the season above.
Burning waste: no, as a general rule
The ban here is not Catalan but national: Ley 7/2022, art. 27.3 — «con carácter general, no está permitida la quema de residuos vegetales generados en el entorno agrario o silvícola». Small and micro farms are exempt from this rule, and in all other cases burning is allowed only with the region's authorisation — for phytosanitary reasons or to prevent fires. The Generalitat refers to the same law, and for the burning itself describes the regime above: a permit from 15 March to 15 October, a notification from 16 October to 14 March. Garden waste — take it away, do not burn it.
The danger map and Pla Alfa
Agricultura publishes the mapa de perill d'incendi by municipality on the scale baix / moderat / alt / molt alt / extrem. With molt alt or extrem in a municipality nearly all risk activities are suspended, even those already authorised; permit holders receive an SMS from PERFOC; for the suspension a 400 m strip around the forest counts. Pla Alfa nivel 4 means emergency restrictive measures; we did not read the meaning of levels 1–3.
Urbanización: a 25 m strip and a fine for an untended plot
This is the only one of the four regions where the width of the strip is stated on an official page. Under Llei 5/2003 and the Generalitat FAQ:
- a protection strip of at least 25 m, measured from the outer edge of the plots; inside it, about 6 m between the trunks of adult trees and 3 m between shrubs;
- the duty applies to urbanizaciones within 500 m of the forest; the work is done by the comunidad de propietaris and, if there is none, by the ayuntamiento;
- unbuilt plots must be kept in the same conditions;
- street trees are pruned up to 3.5 m; access roads, two separate public roads, each at least 3 m, or a single one of 5 m; a hydrant network; an autoprotection plan is obligatory.
An untended plot in Catalonia: from 601 to 10,000 €
The Generalitat FAQ on protection strips names the fine for failing the duty to maintain a plot: infracció greu under Llei 5/2003, from 601 to 10,000 €. We did not read the text of the law — the figure is from the Generalitat page. For a tenant: the duty lies with the owner and the comunidad, but if the plot is overgrown, ask the landlord who clears it and when.
Checklist before you light anything
Find the current year's order
Valencia — the GVA Medi Ambient list of rules; Andalucía — the Plan INFOCA page; Madrid — the current year's INFOMA and the sede; Catalonia — the Prevenim pages on interior.gencat.cat. Dates can be changed by order — do not rely on last year's post in a chat.
Measure the distance to the forest
The rules do not apply only in the forest: 500 m in the Comunitat Valenciana and Catalonia, 400 m in Andalucía and Madrid. An urbanización plot next to a pine slope almost always falls inside that strip.
Check today's danger level
112 CV — nivel 1, 2 or 3; Catalonia — mapa de perill; Madrid — época de peligro. On nivel 3 in Valencia and on molt alt or extrem in Catalonia permits are suspended; on an AEMET forecast of muy alto or extremo fire is banned everywhere.
Waste — do not burn in season, get a permit out of season
Valencia: from 1 June to 15 October no; out of season, in the 500 m strip, autorización or declaración responsable. Madrid: permit via the sede for the bajo and medio periods. Catalonia: as a general rule no, across all of Spain (Ley 7/2022, art. 27.3) — take it away; otherwise only with a permit or a notification. Andalucía: from 1 June to 15 October no.
Barbecue — only in an authorised place and with a spark arrester
Valencia: only prepared and authorised places. Andalucía: from 1 June to 15 October no in the forest and within 400 m of it, even in an equipped recreational area; authorisation only for tourist accommodation, rural restaurants and youth camps. Madrid: in the forest and the surrounding strip, outside authorised places no, all year. Catalonia: gas or a built barbecue with mesh no larger than 4×4 mm.
What we could not confirm
- Regional fine amounts for fire in Valencia, Andalucía and Madrid — we did not read the texts of the regional penalty laws.
- The width of the strip around an urbanización in the Comunitat Valenciana — Decreto 91/2023 does not give it, the old 112 CV page refers to the previous version.
- Whether Ley 7/2022 covers garden waste — we read art. 27.3 in the BOE consolidated text: it speaks of vegetal waste «en el entorno agrario o silvícola» and does not name garden waste expressly; Valencia and Catalonia refer to it.
- The texts of Decret 64/1995 (Catalonia), Llei 5/2003 and the Andalusian forestry law — article numbers come from the portal pages, not from the laws themselves.
- Pla Alfa levels 1–3 — we only read the meaning of nivel 4.
- Madrid rules for recreational areas on specific dates — not found on official pages, so we do not cite them.
Common mistakes
- Carrying dates from one region to another. In Andalucía the ban starts on 1 June, in Madrid peligro alto on 15 June, in Catalonia a permit is needed from 15 March already.
- Assuming the plot is "not in the forest". The influence strip is 500 m in Valencia and Catalonia, 400 m in Andalucía and Madrid; the slope behind the fence counts.
- Burning on last year's permit on a nivel 3 day. In Valencia, on nivel 3 all permits are suspended; in Catalonia, on molt alt and extrem.
- Burning garden waste "quickly". In Valencia 112 CV says it is not permitted; in Catalonia burning needs a permit or a notification.
- Barbecuing in an equipped recreational area in summer in Andalucía. From 1 June to 15 October the ban applies «aun estando habilitadas para ello».
- Launching lanterns or rockets near the forest. In Valencia lanterns are banned expressly (art. 132.1.a); pyrotechnics everywhere, only with authorisation.
- Waiting for the comunidad to clear the strip on its own. In Catalonia non-compliance runs from 601 to 10,000 €; in Madrid clearing the strip is the owner's duty before peligro alto.
This article is for reference and describes the rules of four regions in force at the time of checking; regional orders are updated and may be tightened during the season — check mediambient.gva.es and 112cv.gva.es (Comunitat Valenciana), juntadeandalucia.es (Plan INFOCA), comunidad.madrid (INFOMA and sede), interior.gencat.cat and agricultura.gencat.cat (Catalonia) and boe.es (Ley 43/2003). The facts were checked against these sources on 5 October 2026. If you need a Russian- or Ukrainian-speaking lawyer or gestor, see our verified directory.