The Los Montes shooting range will reopen after a decade of closure

The former Guadalmedina shooting range, which was closed in mid-2015 by the Andalusian Regional Government following a fire that had erupted in its vicinity a year earlier, scorching 273 hectares in the Montes de Málaga (40 of which were part of the natural park), will soon resume its activities. The City Council will approve the action plan in the Urban Planning plenary committee next Monday, allowing the facilities to reopen, a permit that is issued with a term of 10 years, extendable up to 50 years.

The Andalusian Federation of Olympic Shooting, which had its concession withdrawn at the time, arguing that it did not meet the forest fire safety conditions, has once again obtained the necessary authorizations to resume activities in these galleries, located near the Las Pedrizas road, close to the Cotrina sale area.

Thus, the project has received approval from several departments of the Andalusian Regional Government, and the Municipal Urban Planning Management. However, one of the conditions for granting this authorization is that if the activity ceases for more than five consecutive years, it will lose its validity, and the federation will have to return the land to its natural state.

The Guadalmedina shooting range was open since 1972 under a concession managed by the Andalusian Federation of Olympic Shooting. During that period, it became a reference for the practice of this sport, but it was not until the fire that started in its vicinity in August 2014 that its location at the gates of the Natural Park of Los Montes was spotlighted.

Investigations about a fire

Initial investigations suggested that the fire could have been caused by a spark from a projectile hitting a stone, which led to five users who were shooting at the time and two officials of the facility being accused of a presumed crime of reckless arson. However, these accusations by the Autonomous Police were dismissed almost three years later (June 2017) by the Court of Instruction number 8 of Málaga, which closed the case and absolved the shooting range of any responsibility for the fire.

In any case, the Andalusian Regional Government decreed the rescission of the administrative concession in March 2015. This decision was based on the report of the Forest Fire Investigation Brigade, which concluded that the lack of maintenance of a 15-meter perimeter around the facility that was supposed to act as a firebreak due to the accumulation of vegetation, tires, and even garbage facilitated the spread of the flames.

However, a decade later, the regional administration has given the green light for the permit to be granted for the reopening of the facilities, with the established requirements.