News
Madrid will ban Arizona cypresses less than 400 metres from forest areas
The Community of Madrid will prohibit planting Arizona cypresses and other resinous species in areas where homes meet forest land. The restriction will affect a 400-metre strip and will be accompanied by €1 million in aid to replace these hedges with more fire-resistant varieties.
The change will be incorporated into the Forestry and Nature Protection Act after the latest major fires drew attention to the risk posed by certain species commonly used to enclose plots. The regional government believes their high flammability can help flames spread quickly towards homes.
The measure will be particularly important in residential developments close to woodland, where private gardens and boundary hedges mingle directly with forest vegetation. According to the Community of Madrid, Madrid will be the first autonomous community to introduce a ban of this kind in areas where urban development meets woodland.
Property owners will be able to apply to a new €1 million grant scheme to remove Arizona cypresses and replace them with species considered more suitable in the face of fire. The aim is to ensure that adapting plots does not depend solely on each family's financial means and to speed up changes in the areas at greatest risk.
Replacement has already begun in some places affected by fires. IMIDRA has distributed 3,400 plants, including 1,600 native specimens of strawberry trees, common hawthorns, blackthorns, rockroses, laurels, kermes oaks and thorn bushes, with the intention of creating boundary hedges less vulnerable to the spread of flames.
The announcement coincides with the first anniversary of the Tres Cantos fire, which burnt nearly 2,000 hectares, particularly affected Soto de Viñuelas and claimed one life. The fire severely damaged more than 85% of Monte de Viñuelas and required subsequent work in the worst-hit areas to curb erosion and help vegetation recover.
The Community of Madrid is also preparing new urgent work in the woodlands affected this summer in the Sierra Oeste, including removing burnt trees and clearing safety strips alongside forest tracks. These measures will be supplemented by a €1.12 million call for grant applications from owners of land damaged by the fires.
The change will particularly affect people living in detached houses and residential developments close to woodland, where Arizona cypresses have been among the most common forms of planted boundaries for decades. The new regulations will require this residential landscape to be rethought with a different priority: ensuring that gardens and hedges also function as the first line of defence when fire approaches homes.