Lighting a BBQ in Spain could cost you up to half a million euros — Here’s why

A garden barbecue and a flicked cigarette butt don’t sound like criminal acts. During Spain’s high-risk wildfire season, they can be treated as exactly that — and the fines attached can be enormous.

• High-risk fire season in Andalucía: 1 June to 15 October. Exact dates and boundaries can vary by comarca and year, so it’s worth checking current local guidance.
• Lighting a BBQ or any open fire in a forested area, or within 400 metres of one, during this period is prohibited under Andalucían regional rules.
• Fines typically start from €75 for minor infractions and can reach €3,000, depending on the specific circumstances and municipal bylaws — and in the most serious cases, such as actually causing a fire, penalties can escalate dramatically further.
• Throwing a lit cigarette from a vehicle anywhere in Spain can bring a €500 fine and the loss of 6 points from your licence, under national traffic law

Under regional Andalucían rules, the high-risk fire season runs from 1 June to 15 October. During this period, lighting a BBQ or any kind of open fire is prohibited within forested areas and within 400 metres of forests or wooded land.

 

Fines for breaking these rules generally start from €75 and can reach up to €3,000, even for relatively minor infractions, depending on the specific circumstances and the municipal bylaws in place. At the most serious end of the scale — for example, if a fire is actually caused as a result — the applicable regional forestry law allows for penalties to increase dramatically, with fines of up to roughly half a million euros possible in the gravest cases, depending on severity and circumstances.

 

Because enforcement and specific local boundaries can vary by comarca and change from year to year, it’s worth checking current guidance from your local Town Hall or the Junta de Andalucía before lighting a fire or BBQ outdoors during the summer.

This specific rule set applies to Andalucía. Other regions of Spain, as well as Portugal and France, have their own separate wildfire and fire-safety regulations, which may differ in dates, distances and penalties. If you live outside Andalucía, it’s worth checking the equivalent rules for your own region or country before lighting any outdoor fire during the dry season.

Spain’s national traffic law treats throwing or dumping anything from a vehicle that could start a fire as a serious traffic offence. Anyone caught throwing a lit cigarette from a vehicle can be fined €500 and lose 6 points from their driving licence. If that cigarette butt causes a wildfire, it can potentially be treated as a criminal matter, with penalties including prison sentences in serious cases — so it’s simply not worth the risk.

• Stay alert to fires in your area using wildfire alert apps and local community groups.
• Make sure you’re registered with your local Town Hall so you can be reached in the event of an evacuation.
• If you live in a rural or wildland-adjacent property, it’s worth keeping a bag packed with important documents, clothes and toiletries, so you can evacuate quickly if a fire gets close.

Fire can spread quickly and change direction with little warning. If you come across a wildfire, the safest choice is to get to a safe distance rather than stop to film it for social media.

Staysure Expat’s Head of Marketing, Caroline Lips, has also shared her own personal reflections on living through wildfire season on the Costa del Sol — you can read that here: Six Years of Wildfire Season in Estepona: One Expat’s Reflections.

 

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more practical, expat-specific safety updates.

 

---

 

Sources:

 

• Junta de Andalucía, BOJA (fire season rules and distances): https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/boja/2009/102/4
• Junta de Andalucía, BOJA (forestry law penalties): https://www.juntadeandalucia.es/boja/1999/82/1
• Boletín Oficial del Estado, Ley sobre Tráfico, Circulación de Vehículos a Motor y Seguridad Vial: https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2015-11722

 

^{This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Rules, fines and boundaries can change and may vary by municipality or comarca — always check current official guidance before lighting a fire or BBQ outdoors. Staysure Expat is a trading name of Avanti Group Solutions. Products are administered by Howserv Europe, S.L., acting as an exclusive agent of ERGO Seguros de Viaje Europäische Reiseversicherung AG, Sucursal en España.}