Wildfires are now an escalating risk: here’s how the UK needs to prepare ahead of next summer

Wildfires are a growing issue in the UK, with incidents escalating in 2026.

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Fire services across the UK are now working out how much they can do over the winter to prepare for one of the country’s escalating dangers: wildfires.

Baroness Brown, the chairwoman of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, recently told the BBC that not enough action has been taken, given that the UK is predicted to face longer, drier summers due to global warming.

At the Labour party conference in September 2026, Steve Wright, the Fire Brigades Union general secretary, called for 5,000 more firefighters and support to build more resilience against wildfires. Meanwhile, the UK prime minister Andy Burnham praised the citizens of Stourbridge in the West Midlands for rallying around to support their community after a wildfire left people homeless this summer.

National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) chair Phil Garrigan has warned that “wildfires are no longer rare or isolated incidents; they are a growing national risk that require a national-level response”. An analysis by Sky TV using European Forest Fire Information System data found that nearly one in five large wildfires (19%) in England and Wales came within 500 metres of built-up areas in 2026.

What happened this summer?

In 2026, the UK saw its hottest summer on record, with prolonged periods of hot, dry weather contributing to the highest number of wildfires in England and Wales since records began.

Fire and rescue services had attended over 1,000 wildfires by the end of August. Several major incidents required firefighters, equipment and military support to be in place for weeks.

Wildfires spread across Wales this summer.

South Wales Fire Service had to deal with multiple wildfires simultaneously. In Scotland, wildfires in the Cairngorms affected around 25 square kilometres, lasted for around a month, and involved 500 firefighters.

Wildfires have traditionally been viewed as seasonal or exceptional incidents in the UK. The summer of 2026 suggests that they may increasingly become a routine part of fire and rescue service activity.

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What needs to be done to prepare for this?

The government has just announced an almost £100 million programme to establish specialist wildfire teams in five areas across the UK. These teams will learn to use different skills, such as tactical burning, and will also travel abroad to find out how other countries cope with similar wildfires.

Adapting to this increasing risk will require more than just short-term funding. Fire and rescue services are likely to need greater numbers of crew and stronger community support for the existing on-call system.

On-call, or retained, firefighters generally have other jobs such as farmers, builders or office workers but are trained to be able to help respond to 999 calls, and support full-time crew. At a recent NFCC on-call conference, fire services discussed how local employers can help support on-call firefighter recruitment.

The on-call system is considered fragile and has problems with recruitment and retaining crew. Overall, firefighter numbers fell by 14%, this was 9% full time and 26% among on-call firefighters, in the decade to March 2025.

On-call firefighters provide emergency cover across 92% of the UK, particularly in rural and remote communities where wildfire risk is often greatest.

More training for dealing with wildfires is clearly much needed among all the teams, as is specialist equipment better suited to prolonged operations in extreme heat such as specialist off-road vehicles for rough terrain.

There are currently no accepted UK standards for wildfire competence, with varied training between services. As wildfires become more frequent, developing specialist firefighting skills will become increasingly important.

Equipment presents a similar challenge. Much of the personal protective equipment (PPE) used by UK firefighters is designed primarily for firefighting on buildings, rather than prolonged wildfire operations in rural areas. While offering protection, heavier PPE may increase heat retention and physiological strain during long incidents in hot weather. The challenge for the sector is therefore not only protecting firefighters from fire exposure, but doing so without unnecessarily increasing the physical burden.

Prevention and preparedness will also become increasingly important. Closer collaboration between fire and rescue services, land managers, and the government could help to reduce wildfire risk before incidents escalate and strengthen resilience when they do occur. This could include more work with communities on what could help, and increasing public knowledge on how fires can start.

Hidden costs of wildfires

Lengthy wildfires put stress on firefighters. The NFCC chair Phil Garrigan has warned “these fires can burn for days, often in remote locations, challenging terrain, and extreme temperatures. They demand significant resources, tie up crews for prolonged periods, and reduce opportunities for firefighters to rest and recover between incidents.”

During wildfires, firefighters may spend many hours working in challenging countryside, carrying equipment over long distances and operating in extreme temperatures. During heatwaves, firefighters are simultaneously exposed to environmental heat and the heat generated by physical exertion, increasing the risk of heat strain, dehydration and fatigue.

Heat strain can impair performance. Symptoms such as exhaustion, dizziness, headaches and reduced concentration may affect decision-making and operational effectiveness, particularly during incidents that continue over several days. Hydration, cooling and recovery strategies have been shown to help reduce stress. However, implementing these measures can be difficult when services are operating with limited staffing and crews are attending multiple incidents in quick succession.

These pressures may be especially acute for on-call firefighters. Following major wildfire deployments, these firefighters may transition directly back to their primary occupation with little opportunity for recovery. As one on-call firefighter involved in the 2026 wildfires described: “I was doing 10-to-12-hour shifts on the A31, then coming home early in the morning and working from 08:00 to 18:00 at my manufacturing job.”

Dealing with this physiological side of new firefighting challenges will also need time and investment.

As climate change increases the likelihood of hotter, drier summers, the question is no longer whether the UK will face major wildfires, but how soon fire and rescue services can adapt, and how much support the government will offer.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Tags: Academic Journalism, The Conversation, The Conversation Academic News