17/08/2026
The wildfire alert was necessary! Here’s why.
On 14 August, people across England and Wales were warned that there was a very high risk of wildfires nationally, and were specifically asked not to undertake activities capable of starting fires — including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators and fireworks.
Why was that necessary?
Because the circumstances were extraordinary.
🔥 More than 1,000 wildfires had already been recorded in 2026, exceeding the previous annual record of 1,017 set in 2025.
🔥 At the height of the crisis, 11 major wildfire incidents occurred within a 24-hour period, placing enormous pressure on fire and rescue services.
🔥 Temperatures reached 38.1°C, while large parts of the country were suffering from drought conditions — creating exactly the sort of dry, combustible environment in which a small fire can rapidly become a major incident.
🔥 Firefighters were already being deployed for prolonged periods to tackle major incidents, with crews and resources being moved across regions to maintain the response.
The FBU has been warning about this for years.
FBU data shows that 54% of UK wildfires between 2009 and 2021 occurred in built-up areas. Wildfires can threaten homes, businesses and communities — not just forests and moorland.
"But people were annoyed by the alert."
We understand that.
The noise was startling. Some people received it at inconvenient times. Some thought the wording could have been more specific.
Those are legitimate questions about how the system was used.
They aren't an argument against warning people when the risk is genuinely exceptional.
And claims that the alert was simply government "scaremongering" ignore the reality faced by firefighters.
Some news outlets have focused heavily on public irritation, people supposedly switching off emergency alerts and arguments about whether the system was "misused".
But ask the firefighters who were actually standing in front of these fires whether the risk was imaginary.
It wasn't.....
And here's the bigger issue.
You cannot ask firefighters to deal with an increasing number of extreme weather emergencies while simultaneously cutting the resources available to respond to them.
The Fire Brigades Union has recorded nearly 12,000 frontline firefighter roles lost since 2010, alongside the closure of fire stations and removal of fire engines.
We saw the consequences during the Holt Heath wildfire in 2025, when crews from 17 fire and rescue services were required to assist Dorset & Wiltshire.
So yes — tell people not to start fires.
Yes — use every reasonable method available to prevent avoidable wildfires.
And yes — send an emergency alert when the national risk genuinely warrants it.
But don't stop there.
If governments are serious about protecting the public from wildfires, floods and increasingly extreme weather, they need to properly fund the people who will actually be there when things go wrong.
More firefighters.
More fire engines.
More specialist equipment.
Better training.
Better national planning.
And properly resourced fire and rescue services.
The public deserves nothing less.
Solidarity ✊️
