A BURNING ISSUE
The hot weather in summer makes wildfires all the more likely, and experts warn that our fire services don’t have the resources to combat this “tinderbox” effect
W HILE the recent spate of major wildfires have finally been put out, history suggests that we could be in for more this summer.
This year’s heatwave might be faltering, but weather experts have promised that we can expect more hot and dry weather before the summer is through.
These kinds of conditions make wildfires more likely now than at any other time of the year, and experts are warning that cuts may mean our fire services are unable to cope. July is nearly always one of the worst months for these fires, but August and even September are also prone to spikes in outdoor blazes. In August 2016/17 (the latest figures available) there were an average of 136 grassland, woodland and crop fires recorded every day across England and Wales - more than any other month that year. May saw the next highest number of these types of fires, with 92 a day recorded across both countries, followed by July with 84.
In comparison, there were just 14 grassland, woodland and crop fires a day recorded in January, 18 a day the month before, and 23 a day in February.
The previous year, April saw more of these fires than any other month (142 a day), followed by July (132) and June (112).
Meanwhile, in 2014/15 July had the largest number of grassland, woodland and crop fires (128 a day), followed by September (87) and April (83).
Experts have raised concerns over the increasing pressure that hot weather is putting on fire services, which have been ravaged by cuts in recent years.
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said: “The dry hot weather has created tinderbox conditions across the nation.
“Fire and rescue services are tackling the onslaught of fires with the professionalism we would expect but there is great concern at the lack of resources at their disposal.
“In some cases firefighters are working for more than 17 hours without a break because of a lack of relief crews.
“In other cases, firefighters who have yet to complete basic training are being sent to tackle blazes.
“Fire services are having to rely on public donations for simple supplies like sun cream and a lack of water pressure in some areas is complicating firefighting efforts. “This is a very challenging time for fire and rescue services across the UK. It is a situation compounded by years of budget cuts that have ravaged fire services of the resources they need to do their job.” According to figures from the FBU, more than 10,000 firefighter jobs have been cut across England and Wales since 2010 equivalent to 21% of the workforce.