STOURBRIDGE, Aug 14 — Wildfires in England and Wales have hit a record level, fire chiefs said on Friday, warning that rescue services were battling to keep up with rising risks a day after fires raced from tinder-dry fields to engulf houses on the hottest day of the year.
The United Kingdom (UK) has not faced anything like the devastation wrought across Spain, France and elsewhere in Europe this year, but as it endures its fifth heatwave of what is expected to be its hottest ever summer, it is dealing with more outbreaks of fire than ever before.
The National Fire Chiefs Council's chair Phil Garrigan told Reuters that the number of wildfires has now exceeded last year's total of 1,017.
"We have well surpassed the figures from the previous high of 2025," he said, without detailing this year's latest figure.
"We are only in the middle of August, and the wildfire season seems to extend way into November at this moment in time. So, we are anticipating this being not just a record-breaking year, but a considerable increase on the number of wildfires previously experienced," Garrigan added.
Resident tells of trees exploding in flames
On Thursday, homes were destroyed and hundreds of people evacuated as fires broke out across parts of central England.
One resident in Stourbridge described the moment he and his family decided to abandon their home.
"I heard a scream, and all the trees along the railway track were exploding. They weren't just setting fire; they were exploding.
"So we just grabbed everything and left," Paul Nash told Reuters, noting that although his garden was damaged, his house was left standing, unlike others in his street whose homes had burned.
According to government figures, the UK is on track for its hottest summer on record, having recorded five heatwaves that have left around 45 million people living in a drought-hit area and 27 million people facing restrictions on water use.
The Met Office reported that temperatures reached 38.1°C in London on Thursday, making it the fifth hottest day on record for the UK. The market town of Pershore in central England hit 38°C, one of several areas where flames tore through houses and fields.
A major motorway was temporarily closed, and train timetables were also disrupted on Thursday. Officials have yet to say if a train derailment in southern England was connected to the heat.
"We have declared 11 major incidents over the course of the last 24 hours. The demands and the requests for support have probably outstripped the capability of the UK fire and rescue service...so we have struggled to give fire and rescue services exactly what they want," Garrigan said.
