‘More lives will be lost’ unless UK takes action on wildfires

Firefighters have warned that wildfires could kill more people without greater action by next year, after 2026 became the worst year on record for grassland fires. “Is it feasible that if we don’t do anything and 2027 comes then we could be talking about people who have lost their lives to wildfire?” asked Phil Garrigan, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council. “That’s certainly a possibility, and something that we are really striving to avoid.” Most commented 1 Deadly strike on Ukraine homes ‘was birthday gift for Putin’ Russia-Ukraine war 74 comments One person died this year while attempting to stop a wildfire in Gloucestershire. Several others narrowly escaped with their lives in Stourbridge, in the West Midlands, Garrigan said. A fire on Dunwich Heath, on the Suffolk coast, in August Jason Bye tolga akmen/epa The fire chief, who was speaking before a wildfire summit chaired by the prime minister Andy Burnham to be held soon, said he was deeply concerned that the combination of climate change and El Niño could set the stage for more large wildfires in 2027. Top stories 1 How American billionaires are shaping the future of warfare Technology “I can only ultimately put it down to climate change [the increase in wildfires in recent years]. We’re having wetter winters and certainly hotter summers,” he said. Wetter winters mean more vegetation growth, while intense heat reduces moisture sufficiently for it to burn. Advertisement An unprecedented 405 wildfires broke out on grass this year compared with a previous high of 397 in 2022, including nine “significant” blazes in the West Midlands on August 13. One of those, on grass near a golf course in Stourbridge, destroyed 19 houses in scenes that were described as “apocalyptic” . Top stories 1 What would UK look like with proportional representation voting? Politics 2 China came for Congo’s gold. Then Ebola struck Africa 3 Our tower block caught fire — why are we still paying £1,500 a month? Mortgages 4 My daughter works part-time — can she rescue her retirement? Ask Times Money 5 Three popular money rules that you should rethink Saving & Investing Government figures published on Thursday show the UK had the second-highest number of wildfires on record this year. There were 1,354, compared with almost 1,600 four years ago when temperatures hit an extraordinary 40C for the first time . More than 50 properties were destroyed this year in total. Nineteen properties were lost in Stourbridge when wildfires hit in August Christopher Furlong/Getty IMAGES Homes burnt in Stourbridge British News and Media/Alamy The UK has a history of wildfires, usually in the spring, but not at the same scale in the same places or so late in the summer as this year. Historically, moorlands and heathland have seen some of the biggest and most intense wildfires. By contrast, the number of grassland fires has been in the double digits for most years in figures dating back to 2010. However, that soared to 397 in 2022, 295 last year and 405 this year. Advertisement Most of the fires this year were on grass, many more than those on cropland, scrub and other land types. Grass is often right next to the homes where people live — what firefighters refer to as the rural-urban interface. Adapting to grass fires would mean creating “defensible space” around fencelines, Garrigan said. He recommended clearing dry plants and garden growth near boundary fences so blazes cannot easily move from fields to properties. “If you back on to a farm field, maybe have a conversation with the farmer to ensure that there’s a degree of defensible space between crops and your property,” he added. He also reminded people of the risk of igniting a wildfire, saying he was aware of people still burning rubbish in their back gardens during hot spells this summer. Firefighters battled a large heathland blaze on the Suffolk coast in July Ryan Lovejoy/PA A freedom of information request by the Country Land and Business Association has revealed more than half of fire services have no wildfire-specific personal protective equipment (PPE). It also found examples of limited training. For example, Cheshire fire service has just 8 per cent of employees trained or due to undergo training for tackling wildfires. Advertisement Garrigan said helicopters and other aerial capability was needed, plus expanded wildfire training and “burn teams” trained to clear vegetation ahead of advancing fire fronts. Above all, he said more firefighters were needed: numbers have dropped by 11,000 to 12,000 since austerity measures by the coalition government between 2010 and 2015. “It’s firefighters that put fires out, not fire engines,” he said. Garrigan said he hoped the upcoming summit would lead to better preparedness.