UK cities told they must prepare for wildfires

Image source, BBC/Claire Marshall

The lessons learned from last week's fires should be applied to built up areas.

There was a long spell of dry weather that dried out gardens, verges and green spaces.

The fires in the countryside are more common due to that.

A number of houses and shops were destroyed by grass fires.

The extreme heat seen last week in the UK was 10 times more likely to be caused by climate change, according to the Met Office. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the fires.

There have been over 500 fires in England and Wales so far this year, compared with over 200 last year.

David Swallow is the group commander for the fire service and he said that everything is bone-dry. They are nave if they do not.

There are some urban services that think that wildfires are not a problem. There needs to be a review because I understand the need to prioritize.

The wildfire group that Mr Swallow leads draws its members from firefighters in rural areas that are more prone to such fires.

Every fire service in the UK should have wildfire training. Firefighters who are familiar with tackling blazes on moors and in woods could give forces valuable tips.

He said that his group had been preparing for the increased risk of wildfires for some time, but that the risk was now immediate.

Jonathan Smith said that the service was setting out plans for how it would deal with any increase in fires.

"This is something the brigade and other emergency services need to be prepared for, as we know it's going to happen again," he said.

Image source, BBC/Claire Marshall

South Wales Fire Service is seen as being ahead of the game.

The station manager is Craig Hope. A helicopter is on stand-by, as is a controlled burns team and off-road vehicles.

There have been fires in the park this year.

He said that they had predicted it. I don't think anyone would have guessed that it would happen so quickly.

The time is right for big strides because the climate is not on our side.

There were fires in Spain in the 80s and 90s.

He wants authorities to invest more in the development of a national plan for wildfire.

Rather than each force spending money on improving its response, there should be funding for a deployable central specialized unit.

The solutions are available. We need to work together.

We risk losing everything if we don't do anything.

The kind of expertise being developed by rural fire crews is being shown to the public by the ABC.

The chief executive of the Malvern Hills Trust works with the fire service to understand how wind and fire travel through a landscape.

Image source, BBC/Claire Marshall

The keepers help to manage the trust's wildlife by rolling back bracken and allowing livestock to eat grass.

The prevention of wildfires will become more critical as a result of climate change.

He says there doesn't seem to be a systematic approach to dealing with land managers. It's more of a case of each one doing their own thing when it comes to fire prevention and fire safety.

The Home Office pointed out that the Home Office had published a plan for England to provide an effective response to wildfires.

The government is committed to ensuring fire services have the resources they need to keep us safe, and will give fire and rescue authorities a total of 2.5 billion pounds in the next three years.