Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Miriam Burrell

Wildfires soar by 500% in parts of the UK as London hits 34C

Wildfires have soared by almost 500 per cent in Dorset and Wiltshire so far in August while grass fires continue to rage in London as it reaches 34C.

The Dorset and Wiltshire fire service said it attended 180 fires “in the open” between August 1 and 10. During the same period last year, the service responded to just 34 incidents.

That is an increase of more than 429 per cent, the service said, as it urged people to avoid using barbeques.

Jason Moncrieff, area manager for the service, told the BBC’s Today programme that “it is a massive difference”.

“The first 10 days of August this year versus last year there were 492 per cent more of these types of fires. So that’s field fires, grass fires, heathland fires – all those sorts of fires in the open, a 492 per cent increase this year.”

He also said a large fire on Friday on the Studland peninsula, near Purbeck, could have been avoided.

In a tweet, the fire service said: “We have found evidence of a campfire and BBQ at the seat of the fire on Studland and believe this to be the cause of the fire which started yesterday. Please DO NOT have campfires, bonfires or use barbecues in the countryside.”

Meanwhile in London temperatures are continuing to climb. At 4pm on Saturday, Kew Gardens reached almost 35C, edging slightly hotter than Friday’s weather.

Grassfires rage across parks in the capital, with around 70 firefighters tackling the latest one in Rammey Marsh in Enfield.

In the first week of August, the brigade responded to 340 grass, rubbish and open land fires, compared to 42 in 2021.

London Fire Brigade has urged people to discard of ciagarettes and glass bottles carefully, while a number of supermarkets have halted the sale of disposable barbeques.

Dry and hot conditions are expected to persist across the country on Sunday, with the capital expected to reach a high of 33C. Some rain could finally arrive on Tuesday and Wednesday.

People are being warned to look out for symptoms of heat exhaustion, including dizziness, headaches and throwing up.

Eight areas in the UK have been placed in drought conditions: Devon and Cornwall, Solent and South Downs, Kent and south London, Hertfordshire and north London, East Anglia, Thames, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire, and the east Midlands.

Environment Agency, John Curtin, said: “Mainly it is a signal that this is not a normal summer now, so that water will be an issue and probably will be an issue for months ahead, depending how the winter goes.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.