Malaga's shooting range in Los Montes area reopens after decade-long closure

Zoom

The city council is authorising the reopening of the facilities for a period of 50 years

Jesús Hinojosa

Malaga

Friday, 17 April 2026, 14:31

The former Guadalmedina shooting range in the Los Montes de Málaga area, which the Andalusian regional government closed in mid-2015 following a wildfire that ravaged 273 hectares, is reopening.

The city council will approve the project at the urban planning committee meeting on Monday. It will initially grant the permit for ten years, with the possibility of extending it to 50.

The Andalusian ferderation of Olympic shooting, which had its concession withdrawn on the grounds that it did not comply with the safety conditions to prevent wildfires, has once again obtained the necessary authorisations to resume activity near the Las Pedrizas road and Venta Cotrina.

The project has received approval from several departments of the Andalusian regional government and the municipal planning department. One of the conditions is that, if the activity ceases for more than five consecutive years, the authorisation will expire and the federation will have to return the land to its natural state.

The Guadalmedina shooting range opened in 1972. During its years of operation, it became a benchmark for the practice of this sport. It wasn't until the fire that broke out in August 2014 that its location at the entrance to the Los Montes natural park came under scrutiny.

Fire investigation

Initial investigations suggested that the fire might have been caused by a spark resulting from a projectile striking a rock, which is why five visitors who were shooting at the time and two site managers were charged with the alleged offence of causing a fire through negligence.

However, a Malaga court dismissed these charges almost three years later, in 2017. The judge closed the case and cleared the shooting range of responsibility for the fire.

The regional government decreed the termination of the concession in March 2015, after the forest fire investigation brigade concluded that the lack of maintenance of the 15-metre perimeter of the site facilitated the spread of fires.