Villasbuenas de Gata introduces fire ordinance for its peri-urban environment

The City Council of Villasbuenas de Gata has finalized the Municipal Ordinance for the Prevention of Forest Fires in the peri-urban area of the municipal district, the full text of which is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cáceres (BOP) no. 0197, dated October 14, 2026, under the official reference BOP-2026-4807. The regulation requires landowners within the peri-urban strip to maintain fire prevention measures and to carry out vegetation treatments before June 1st of each year. The plenary agreement approving it is dated May 29, 2026, and was automatically finalized as no claims were filed during the public exhibition period.

Final approval following the public exhibition process

The announcement, signed by the mayor María Azucena Fagundo Cordero on October 7, 2026, states that the initial agreement of the Plenary received no objections and is finalized in accordance with article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. The ordinance is issued under the protection of Law 3/2019 on the guarantee of municipal autonomy of Extremadura, Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure, Law 5/2004 on the prevention and fight against forest fires in Extremadura, Decree 260/2014, and the PREIFEX Plan.

The text is conceived as a municipal instrument complementary to regional and state regulations, with the nature of an urban and rural police ordinance, and is supported by the Municipal Peri-Urban Forest Fire Prevention Plan (PPPI), whose determinations are mandatory. The same corporation approved on September 30, 2026, the Municipal Action Plan against the Risk of Forest Fires (PAMIF), municipal file no. 106/2026, favorably reported by the Permanent Commission for Civil Protection of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura and published in the BOP on October 14, 2026 (BOP-2026-4808).

400-meter peri-urban strip and 50-meter protection band

The ordinance applies to the entire municipal district, with specific measures for the peri-urban strip, which surrounds the urban center with an average width of 400 meters from the limit of the urban land in the nuclei included in the High Forest Fire Risk Zones of annex I of Decree 260/2014.

Within that strip, a protection band is established with the following characteristics:

• Minimum width of 50 meters from the urban boundary.
• Vegetation-free perimeter line (LPD) of 5 meters along the urban boundary.
• Protection area (APD) up to the completion of the 50 meters, with fuel reduction treatments.
• Safety strip of 3 meters around each building, free of vegetation in its vertical projection.
• 30-meter band at vulnerable points such as isolated buildings, facilities, and unique equipment.

Obligations of holders and annual calendar

The owners, usufructuaries, or tenants of the included plots are responsible; when the direct and beneficial ownership correspond to different persons, the obligation falls upon the holder of the beneficial ownership. The planned actions include:

• Reducing the height of the grassland and eliminating or decreasing scrubland.
• Periodic mowing, clearing, or tilling of the land.
• Livestock utilization of the grassland and elimination of pioneer scrub.
• Thinning of dense tree masses and pruning to increase the distance between the ground and the crowns.
• Keeping plots free of waste, debris, and combustible materials.
• Maintaining access points and roads passable and free of obstacles for firefighting equipment.

All treatments must be executed annually and, generally, before June 1st, the start of the high-danger period. Water points intended for the recharging of firefighting equipment must remain operational and accessible, in accordance with Annex V of the Order of October 24, 2016.

Inspection, subsidiary execution, and fines of up to 3,000 euros

Municipal technical services assume inspection, surveillance, and control, and their personnel shall be considered authority agents. In the event of non-compliance, the City Council will notify the holder and, if they do not act within the deadline, may execute the works subsidiarily and recover the costs through the enforcement procedure, in accordance with Article 102 of Law 39/2015. In situations of serious or imminent risk, it may act immediately, even on abandoned plots or those without an identified holder.

The sanctioning regime classifies offenses as minor, serious, and very serious:

• Minor: up to 750 euros.
• Serious: from 751 to 1,500 euros.
• Very serious: from 1,501 to 3,000 euros.

The amount is determined based on the severity of the risk generated, the affected area, recidivism, and the degree of intent or negligence, and the sanctions are compatible with other administrative, civil, or criminal liabilities.

The entry into force of the ordinance transfers to the owners of the urban-forest environment of Villasbuenas de Gata an annual obligation with a fixed calendar and sanctioning backing, in a municipality that already has a municipal action plan against the risk of fires. The full text can be consulted in the BOP of October 14, 2026.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Cáceres, no. 0197, of October 14, 2026, Section I - Local Administration (official reference: BOP-2026-4807).