Travel preparation: staying safe during the wildfire season

Before you leave: 5 checks

1. Check our Europe map for active fires in your destination region.
2. Note the local department or province channel for wildfire warnings (see the country list below).
3. Turn on the country's official alert system: FR-Alert (France), ES-Alert (Spain), IT-Alert (Italy). Enable notifications as soon as you arrive.
4. Save the EU emergency number 112 offline and agree a meeting point with your travel companions.
5. Check whether your travel insurance covers evacuation and cancelled accommodation caused by wildfires.

Following local risk warnings

Every southern country publishes a daily risk map per department, province or region. It is updated around 18:00 local time for the next day and determines whether forests and trails stay open.

• France — each department's préfecture publishes a carte de vigilance feux de forêt with four levels: yellow, orange, red and black. At red and black, massifs such as the Maures, Estérel, Calanques and Cévennes close. Check meteo-forets.fr or the préfecture site (e.g. var.gouv.fr).
• Spain — every comunidad autónoma runs its own service. In Catalonia Agents Rurals issues the Nivel Alfa/Bravo/Charlie/Delta levels; in Andalusia Plan INFOCA does the same. At high risk, campsites in woodland are evacuated as a precaution.
• Italy — regional Protezione Civile offices publish a daily risk grid. Sardinia and Sicily issue separate bollettini incendi. Access to nature parks is managed by the Corpo Forestale.
• Portugal & Greece — IPMA (Portugal) and the Greek fire service publish a daily 1-5 scale. At level 4-5, forest walks are banned.

Tip: our maps combine NASA satellite detections with EFFIS verification, so you can see at a glance where fires are active — even when the local bulletin has not been updated yet.

Understanding forest access bans

At high risk, authorities close entire nature areas — for cars as well as walkers and cyclists. Some examples travellers often run into:

• Massif des Maures & Estérel (Var, FR) — at red risk all tracks and sentiers close until sunset. Physical barriers are put in place.
• Calanques (Bouches-du-Rhône, FR) — daily rules per zone; calanques.gouv.fr publishes the regime for the next day each evening.
• Sierra de Tramuntana (Mallorca) — at Nivel 3, refuges and marked walking routes close.
• Aspromonte & Gennargentu (IT) — at extreme risk even picnicking inside the park is prohibited.

Emergency procedure for travellers

See smoke, spot flames or smell burning resin? Follow these steps:

1. Call 112 — it works in every EU country, even without a SIM card or credit. Give your exact location (map coordinates or a Plus Code).
2. Leave the area into the wind and move away from slopes — fire climbs faster than it descends.
3. Follow instructions from the sapeurs-pompiers, bomberos or vigili del fuoco. Do not try to fight the fire yourself unless it is small, just starting and you have a clear escape route.
4. If your campsite or accommodation is evacuated: take passport, phone, charger and water. Leave cars unlocked so the fire brigade can move them.
5. Contact your embassy or consulate if you have been unreachable — family members often call the ministry's 24/7 line first.

Useful numbers and channels