Checking wildfire, coastal and landslide exposure for an address

Terms used

• Ayuntamiento — The ayuntamiento is your local town hall, the first office to ask about local fire, planning and risk rules.
• Faja — The faja is a strip of cleared land around a home and along its access roads, to slow a fire.
• Urbanización — An urbanización is a residential estate, often outside town and run by a residents' community or association.
• Plan de autoprotección — The plan de autoprotección is an estate's emergency plan for risks such as wildfire.
• Deslinde — The deslinde is the surveyed line marking the edge of public coastal land.
• Nota simple — A nota simple is a short property-registry extract showing the owner and any charges or notes on a property.

Key rules

• Flood maps: A flood map does not show wildfire, coastal-boundary or landslide risk.
• Wildfire: Your region sets fire zoning and prevention rules, so start with the regional forestry or environment department.
• Coast: For a home near the sea, check the national coastal viewer for the deslinde and protection zones.
• Landslides: Susceptibility maps are only a guide, so a plot on a slope needs an engineer's geotechnical study.
• Fines: Not meeting local fire-prevention duties can bring fines and liability for damage.

Flood maps do not cover these risks

Wildfire, coastal and landslide risk each have their own sources. Most are regional, and a flood map does not replace any of them. Check each risk separately for the address you are considering.

Wildfire: look at the region

Wildfire zoning is run by each region, not by one national map. Every region must declare its high-risk zones and approve plans for them, and each publishes its own mapping. No single national viewer shows fire risk for an address.

To find your region's map:

• Search "[region] zonas de alto riesgo de incendio forestal visor".
• Ask the ayuntamiento (town hall).
• Ask the regional forestry or environment department.

For a wider view, national and EU tools show fire history and danger. AEMET, the state weather agency, also publishes daily fire-weather danger forecasts. These are useful context, but they do not replace the regional zoning.

Fire-prevention duties if the home is near forest

Owners in or next to forest areas often have to keep up fire-prevention measures. Typical ones are:

• a clear strip (faja) around the home and along access roads
• clearing vegetation
• keeping access roads open

Distances and dates vary a lot by region. In some regions the strip is around 25 to 30 m. Many regions issue a yearly order with summer-season restrictions. Not clearing land can bring fines, and you can be liable for damage.

If the home is in an urbanización, ask the community or association whether it has a self-protection plan (plan de autoprotección). Near forest in high-risk areas, these estates typically need one. The association or the ayuntamiento usually looks after brush clearing in common areas. The checklist below lists what to ask.

Coast: use the national coastal viewer

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition runs a free online viewer showing the deslinde. This is the surveyed line of the public coastal land. It also shows the protection zones beside it, of 6 m or 100 m, and the influence zone. Check it for any home near the sea, because it affects what can be built or kept there.

• Coastal flooding appears on the national flood-zone maps.
• Erosion and sea-level-rise work are covered by the ministry's climate-change material and by regional coastal viewers.
• Catalonia and Andalusia, among others, manage parts of their coast, so their own viewers may add detail.
• A nota simple from the property registry may also mention coastal public land.

The deslinde may be pending or under revision for some stretches of coast, and viewer addresses change. Search the ministry's name plus "visor deslinde", or ask the ayuntamiento.

Landslides: national maps, then local detail

Spain's geological institute publishes free landslide susceptibility maps and a database of past slope movements. The national geographic institute and the civil-protection risk viewer add more layers. Some regions publish their own, such as Catalonia's cartographic and geological institute, and the Canary, Balearic and Andalusian governments.

Also ask the ayuntamiento for the geological and risk sections of the local urban plan. Regional civil-protection plans for geological risk flag unstable slopes too.

These maps only show susceptibility. They are a guide, not a verdict on one plot. If you are buying land or a house on a slope, hire a qualified engineer for a geotechnical study.

Checklist

• Ask the ayuntamiento (town hall) and the regional forestry or environment department which fire-prevention rules apply to the address.

• Check the regional fire-prevention order, which usually sets summer-season restrictions each year.

• Find out whether the home needs a clear strip (faja) around it and along its access roads, and how wide it must be in your region.

What to watch out for

• Flood maps do not cover fire, coast or slopes: A clear flood map says nothing about wildfire, coastal or landslide risk. Each is found in different, mostly regional sources. Check each hazard in its own source: your region's fire zoning, the national coastal viewer, and the national landslide map viewer.

• No single national wildfire viewer: Wildfire zoning is set by each region, so no one national map gives an address-level answer. Search your region's name plus "zonas de alto riesgo de incendio forestal visor", or ask the town hall or regional forestry service.

• Fire-prevention duties can bring fines: Owners in or next to forest areas must keep land clear, and failing to do so can bring fines and liability for damage. Ask the town hall what clearing the home needs and who does it in common areas before you commit.

• The coastal line may change: A coastal address can fall within the public coastal domain or its easement zones, and the surveyed line (deslinde) may be pending or under revision for that stretch. Look the address up in the national coastal viewer and ask for a nota simple from the property registry, which may note the coastal domain.

• Landslide maps are only a guide: Landslide susceptibility maps are indicative and do not tell you whether a specific plot is stable. For a sloping plot, ask a qualified engineer for a geotechnical study.

Frequently asked questions

Does a flood map also show wildfire risk for an address?

No, a flood map does not show wildfire risk, because fire zoning is published separately by each region.

Do I have to clear brush around a house at the edge of a forest?

Yes, in many places owners next to forest areas must keep a clear strip (faja) around the home and along roads. In some regions the strip is about 25 to 30 m, and rules and dates differ by region. Fines are possible, and an owner can be liable for damage.

Who looks after fire prevention in an urbanización?

In an urbanización (residential estate) near high-risk forest, the residents' association or the ayuntamiento is usually responsible for clearing brush in the common areas. Such estates typically need their own self-protection plan (plan de autoprotección). Ask the community for a copy.

Is a landslide susceptibility map enough to judge a plot?

No, a susceptibility map is only a general guide and does not judge a specific plot. For a particular plot, a qualified engineer needs to do a geotechnical study. The maps are free online.