Every summer, somewhere in the middle of a hot spell, the same thing happens on Tenerife: the Cabildo announces wildfire-risk restrictions, and a stream of visitors in hire cars wonders whether their trip is about to fall apart. The short, reassuring answer is usually no. The longer answer is that a few specific places do close, one famous road behaves differently from the rest, and the details depend on which risk level the island has declared.
The island takes this seriously for a reason. The 2023 wildfire burned through thousands of hectares and forced village evacuations, and locals remember it. Anyone who lights a barbecue in the wrong forest during an active order is likely to meet the police quickly. This guide explains how the orders work, what they close, and how to keep a driving holiday going while one is in force.
What a Wildfire-Risk Order Is, and What It Isn’t
A wildfire-risk order is an emergency measure issued by the Cabildo de Tenerife when heat and dryness push the fire danger up. It is built around two ideas: stop anything that could start a fire, and keep people out of the places where a fire would spread fastest or be hardest to escape.
That’s very different from a weather closure. A storm shuts roads because the road itself becomes dangerous. A wildfire-risk order mostly targets forest areas, recreational sites and the tracks that lead to them, while the ordinary road network stays open. It is zone-based rather than road-based, and it normally has no fixed end date: it lifts when the risk eases, which can mean days or weeks.
What Can Close, and What Usually Stays Open
| What | Usually open or closed? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Main roads (TF-1, TF-5, coast roads, the TF-21 to Teide) | Open | The order targets forest areas, not tarmac; see our Teide driving guide |
| Forest tracks | Restricted in higher-risk zones | Recreational driving can be banned outright |
| Recreational areas and campsites | Closed in higher-risk zones | Open flames banned more widely |
| Named viewpoints with forest approaches | Can close | A viewpoint in the Anaga mountains was closed in the most recent order we covered |
| Coastal and beach-adjacent spots | Open | Away from forest vegetation, so not part of the restrictions |
| Airports and car hire pickup | Open | Past orders have not affected airport operations; check your flight as usual |
| Hiking and sporting events in forest areas | Can be suspended | Check any organised activity you’ve booked |
| The TF-436 road to Masca | Treated separately | See the next section |
The Masca Road Is the One to Check Separately
If Masca is on your list, don’t assume it follows the forest-track rules. When wildfire risk is elevated, the Cabildo can restrict the TF-436 to residents, property owners, essential workers and public transport, and rental cars are turned back at checkpoints, typically around Las Lagunetas and Santiago del Teide. That’s a conditional closure tied to fire-risk alerts, separate from the forest-track measures above, and it can apply even when the rest of the road network is untouched.
Our Masca driving guide covers the road itself and the closure in more detail. The practical rule is simple: during any hot spell, check the status of the TF-436 on the day you plan to go, not the week before.
The Most Recent Order We Covered
Status note. Order began: [DATE ORDER BEGAN]. Status: [STILL IN FORCE / LIFTED ON DATE]. Last checked by us: [DATE OF LAST CHECK]. Orders move with the weather, so treat this block as an example of how an order looks, not as today’s status.
The last order we covered was triggered by a heatwave, with the national weather agency forecasting temperatures in the mid-30s across large parts of the island and unusually warm nights. The Cabildo split the island into two risk levels, and the restrictions differed between them:
| Level | Areas | What it meant for visitors |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Northern slopes, North Anaga | No barbecues, bonfires, stoves, smoking or spark-generating tools in forest recreational areas; ordinary roads unaffected |
| Level 2 | Southern slopes, South Anaga | Recreational driving on forest tracks banned; campsites and recreational sites closed; forest sporting events and traditional rural pilgrimages (romerías) suspended; the Chimaque Viewpoint closed; shotgun hunting suspended island-wide |
The order had no fixed end date. It was set to lift once the wildfire risk subsided, which is standard for this kind of measure. Enforcement was real: driving on a restricted track during an active order is treated as a breach and can bring a fine or police intervention.
Picnics, Barbecues and Parking Spots
Open flames, portable stoves and barbecues are banned in forest recreational areas, and in the higher-risk zone the recreational sites themselves are closed. If a barbecue in the hills was part of your plan, that’s exactly the kind of activity these measures stop first. The ban covers the forest areas named in the order, not outdoor cooking across the whole island.
Coastal picnic spots and beach areas well away from vegetation are generally not covered. Smoking is the one many visitors forget: within the affected forest recreational areas it applies to trails, roads and viewpoints too, not only to picnic spots.
If You See Smoke While Driving
Don’t slow down to take a look, and don’t drive towards it. Call 112 with the clearest location you can give: a nearby village, a kilometre marker or the coordinates from your phone. Wind and visibility can change fast in a live fire, and mountain roads with narrow shoulders and few places to turn around are a poor place to be caught out.
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Your first priority is getting yourself and your passengers somewhere safe. The logistics come second, and the same logic as in our guide to breakdowns in a hire car applies: safety first, then the rental company.
How to Check Before You Go
The Cabildo’s official channels and local news publish updates as conditions change, and orders can be tightened or lifted at short notice. Check the same day you plan to head into an affected area, rather than relying on anything you read in advance, including this page.
A second plan costs nothing. If a viewpoint you had in mind is closed, our roundup of the island’s best viewpoints includes plenty of coastal and lower-altitude options outside forest zones. And if you’re building a driving week around the mountains, the driving in Tenerife guide shows which routes are the demanding ones. If your plan runs through the Anaga mountains, our Anaga road trip guide covers the roads that stay open.
Fire Orders, Storm Closures and Calima: Three Different Problems
Tenerife can serve up more than one hazard in the same week, and they call for different responses.
| Hazard | Trigger | What it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire-risk order | Heat and dryness | Forest areas, recreational sites and, separately, the TF-436 |
| Severe weather closure | Wind and rain, under the island’s emergency plan | Specific roads and the national park, with binding closures |
| Calima | Saharan dust | Visibility and air quality; roads stay open |
| Winter snow on Teide | Cold snaps | The higher sections of the Teide roads |
Calima often arrives with the same heatwave that brings fire risk, so the two can overlap. The response differs: calima asks you to drive more carefully, a fire order asks you to stay out of specific places.
Questions Drivers Ask When Fire Warnings Appear
Is it safe to drive to Teide during a wildfire-risk order?
The main TF-21 road is not part of the forest-track restrictions, so the standard routes are normally open. It’s still sensible to check conditions the same day, since orders can change quickly.
Can I still visit Anaga?
The main road route through Anaga normally stays open. In the most recent order we covered, it was forest tracks and one viewpoint in the Level 2 zone that were closed.
What happens if I’m caught on a restricted forest track?
It’s treated as a breach of an active emergency order and can bring a fine or police intervention. The restrictions are enforced, not advisory.
Will an order affect my flight or car hire pickup?
In past episodes the airports have kept operating normally, and these orders are about forest and mountain access. Check your flight as you would on any hot day.
Is barbecuing banned everywhere?
Only in the forest recreational zones covered by the order. It is not an island-wide ban on cooking outdoors.
How do I check whether an area is restricted?
Use the Cabildo’s official channels and local news on the day you travel, and ask your accommodation or rental company if you’re unsure.
Does the smoking ban apply while I’m driving?
Within the covered forest recreational zones, yes: trails, roads and viewpoints inside them are included, not only designated picnic or camping spots.
A Small Habit for Hot Weeks
When the forecast turns hot, add one line to your morning routine: check whether anything has been declared, and whether it touches the place you’re driving to. Most days it won’t. On the days it does, you’ll have lost nothing and chosen your plan B in advance.