Starting on 24 June 2018 and continuing throughout the summer, a record-breaking series of
wildfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
burned across the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. The two largest fires, which were declared major incidents, burned over each and broke out on
Saddleworth Moor in
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
and
Winter Hill in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
.
Other large fires broke out in
Glenshane Pass
The Glenshane Pass () is a major mountain pass cutting through the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is in the townland of Glenshane Pass on the main Derry to Belfast route, the A6.
A large wildfire broke out in Gl ...
in
County Londonderry
County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
(640 acres),
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
, in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and in the
Vale of Rheidol in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. The Saddleworth Moor fire has been described as the largest English wildfire in living memory. Most of the wildfires occurred during the first official heatwave in the United Kingdom since June 2017, with temperatures reaching above for several days, making the hottest June in the country since 1995,
and the driest June for over ten years in large parts of the United Kingdom, exacerbating the crisis.
A wildfire started on the Staffordshire Moorlands on 9 August and, despite rain, had spread to cover 219 acres by 11 August.
Some hot spots were still burning as at 22 August. In total, there were 79 fires over the course of the year, a new record. However, the record was beaten in 2019 with 96 fires as of April 23.
Background
June 2018 was the driest on record for some parts of the UK,
as a result of a persistent strong
Azores High
The Azores High also known as North Atlantic (Subtropical) High/Anticyclone or the Bermuda-Azores High, is a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure typically found south of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, at the Hor ...
that blocked Atlantic low-pressure weather systems from reaching the British Isles and bringing rainfall. For much of the time, a strong anticlockwise wind circulation around Britain and Ireland caused a strong
warm anticyclone there. As a result, in the lead-up to the outbreak of wildfires across the country, many areas were unusually dry.
Drought
A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
conditions were reported in parts of the country by the end of the month, with
NI Water introducing a
hosepipe ban
An outdoor water-use restriction is a ban or other lesser restrictions put into effect that restricts the outdoor use of water supplies. Often called a watering ban or hosepipe ban, it can affect:
*irrigation of lawns
* car washing
* recreation ...
in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
from 6 pm on 29 June, the first hosepipe ban in the area since
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
.
Towards the end of the month, prolonged high pressure moving in from southern Europe brought with it a prolonged period of high temperatures, marking the first official heat wave in the United Kingdom since June 2017. Temperatures of over were reported widely in all four nations of the United Kingdom for the first time since
July 2013,
with June 2018 becoming the warmest June month since 1995.
On 26 June, a high of was recorded at
Porthmadog
Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...
in
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, making it the hottest day of the year so far for the United Kingdom.
Porthmadog continued to break temperature records on subsequent days, reaching on 27 June and then on 28 June.
By 6 July, the heatwave, which had lasted just over two weeks, was the longest in the United Kingdom since July 2013.
The drought conditions were exacerbated by May 2018 being the warmest since 2008 and the driest since 2011. It was especially dry in parts of Northern England, where rainfall was the lowest.
Fires
Member of Parliament
Jonathan Reynolds
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (born 28 August 1980) is a British politician.
He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative, Labour and Co-operative parties, he has ...
,
Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said ministers would “need to look seriously at our capacity to deal with these kinds of fires in future, including military capacity we might have lost in recent years”.
Saddleworth Moor
Fire first broke out on
Saddleworth Moor, between
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, on 24 June 2018, but that fire was extinguished later that same day. But the next day, pockets of the fire re-ignited, perhaps from burning of peat which had dried out deep; this began to burn out of control from 26 June, and a major incident was declared that day. By 27 June, the moorland fire had grown to cover over and remained uncontained.
Rapidly changing wind speed and direction helped the fire to spread quickly across the dry moorland and complicated efforts to fight the fire, which split into several fronts moving in different directions.
Dry
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
is also making fighting the fire difficult, as the fire can continue to smoulder underground after being extinguished at the surface, re-igniting the surface later.
After a major incident was declared on 26 June and with the fire rapidly approaching populated areas, around 150 people were evacuated from 50 homes close to the advancing fire,
including 34 homes on Calico Crescent in
Carrbrook
Carrbrook is a village in the east of Stalybridge, in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The area still has many seventeenth and eighteenth-century buildings. Much of the late-nineteenth and the early-twentieth-century village was built dur ...
,
Stalybridge;
it is thought to be the first time a wildfire has forced such an evacuation to take place in the United Kingdom. In the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
on 26 June,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
told MPs that the government was keeping the situation on Saddleworth Moor under "constant review"
following the declaration of a major incident in response to the wildfires.
Speaking at the scene of the fire on 27 June,
Mayor of Greater Manchester
The Mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected metro mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the Greater ...
Andy Burnham
Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...
said that a summertime fire on Saddleworth Moor "isn't unusual", but that the size and scale of this fire "is unlike anything we've seen before".
Later that afternoon, assistant chief fire officer of the
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is the statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
GMFRS covers an area of ...
Dave Keelan formally requested
military assistance in tackling the fire,
including the provision of high-pressure water lines and transportation of firefighters towards front lines,
plus
Chinook helicopters to transport water pumps up the mountain.
The fire was near to a densely populated area of northern England. Satellite imagery showed smoke drifting towards
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
on 25 June, before the wind direction changed and the smoke cloud was redirected over
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and towards
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
on 26–27 June. As a result, air quality levels across
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
dropped due to smoke and ash drifting across the city from the fire, forming a widespread
haze
Haze is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon in which dust, smoke, and other dry particulates suspended in air obscure visibility and the clarity of the sky. The World Meteorological Organization manual of codes includes a classification ...
at ground level.
Emergency services supplied dust masks to residents living closest to the fire, in
Stalybridge and surrounding areas, on 27 June; four local schools – three primary schools and a secondary school
– were closed, and residents were advised to keep their doors and windows closed.
One GP at a Manchester surgery told
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
that he had treated numerous people suffering from respiratory illnesses relating to the fire, including nosebleeds, coughs and eye problems.
On 27 June, the burning caused
particle pollution to reach as far away as
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
,
Warrington
Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...
and
St Helens - 37 miles away. This pollution reached an eight out of ten on the
air quality index
An air quality index (AQI) is used by government agencies to communicate to the public how polluted the air currently is or how polluted it is forecast to become. AQI information is obtained by averaging readings from an air quality sensor, whi ...
.
As night fell on 27 June 29 fire engines and more than 100 firefighters were at the scene of the fire,
including crews from
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
and
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
;
two helicopters were in use,
and had so far dropped more than 65,000 gallons of water on the fire from above.
The
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
arrived at the scene, handing out 1000 bottles of water, 600
Mars bars
Mars, commonly known as Mars bar, is the name of two varieties of chocolate bar produced by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in 1932 in Slough, England by Forrest Mars, Sr. The bar consists of caramel and nougat coated with milk c ...
and sandwiches made from 40 loaves of bread to firefighters.
Other charities and individuals brought much food and drinking water to the fire sites.
After three weeks, on 18 July, it was declared the fire was extinguished. In total of moorland were burned and the Manchester fire service declared it one of the busiest periods it has ever faced. Aside from the extensive firefighting effort also recent rainfall had led to the final declaration of the fire being extinguished. One wildlife expert said the effects of the fire could last for up to fifteen years.
Winter Hill
A large wildfire broke out on
Winter Hill, north of
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish people, Flemish weavers settled in the area i ...
in Lancashire, at around 3:20 pm on Thursday 28 June 2018; near the
Winter Hill transmitting station
The Winter Hill transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications site on Winter Hill, at the southern boundary of the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire and above Bolton. It is owned and operated by Arqiva.
Height
The original mast at ...
. Initially, five fire engines from Greater Manchester and seven from the
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service
The Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the Shire county of Lancashire, England and also includes the unitary authorities of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen.
Lancashire Fire ...
were sent to tackle the blaze with specialist fire-fighting equipment. They were supported by firefighting teams from United Utilities and volunteers and vehicles from Bolton Mountain Rescue Team, and later other local volunteer teams including Lancaster Area Search and Rescue. By nightfall, that fire had reached more in size with a total of fifteen fire crews from Lancashire trying to stop the fire from spreading. The next day, fire services were also assisted by a
United Utilities
United Utilities Group plc (UU), the United Kingdom's largest listed water company, was founded in 1995 as a result of the merger of North West Water and NORWEB. The group manages the regulated water and waste water network in North West Engla ...
helicopter which was dropping tonnes of water from the nearby
Rivington Reservoirs onto the fire.
At the time huge plumes of smoke from the moors could be seen from as far away as
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...
, and was measured on pollution instruments as far away as
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
.
People who were affected by the smoke were advised to keep windows closed and doors shut. The fire also caused a number of roads and footpaths in the area to be closed due to public safety, with firefighters later setting up a 'four-mile no-go zone' around the affected area.
Elsewhere, on 29 June at 2 am other wildfires started near Horrocks Moor Farm, on Scout Road in Bolton. Separately, fifty firefighters were sent there - where the fire was reportedly long.
On 30 June it was reported this fire had merged with the fire on Winter Hill, and as result the two official fire incidents became one and a major incident was declared. The proximity of the fire to the broadcasting equipment at Winter Hill
transmitting station
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
, which has the second greatest coverage of any UK transmitter at around 7 million people, led to fears that it may disrupt television and radio services. The transmitter's owners,
Arqiva
Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure, broadcast transmission and smart meter facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former Independent Broadcasting Authority headquart ...
, issued a statement for radio stations in the area to be on standby and prepare for any interruptions in broadcast. By 2 July 2018, the fire covered over six square miles with up to one hundred firefighters and more than 20 fire engines tackling the blaze.
The continuing response was also being supported by volunteers from Bolton Mountain Rescue Team, Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue Team and Rossendale & Pendle Mountain Rescue Team. That day Andy Burnham visited the site of the fire and said that he would be speaking to the
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer f ...
about the incident and that he wanted to ensure "all necessary resources are available".
The fire was brought under control on 16 July, in total it had spread over . The fire service said there was "still significant work to do" as peat was still burning underground and despite recent rainfall even by 23 July the fire was not fully out.
The fire service were digging into the ground to make sure the water reaches the burning peat.
On 29 June 2018 a 22-year-old man was arrested for
arson with intent to endanger life, on suspicion of starting the initial Winter Hill fire.
On 1 July a
police helicopter
Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...
, which was patrolling the area, spotted several people setting grass fires alight in the
Healey Nab
Healey Nab or "The Nab" is an area of countryside owned partly by Lancashire County Council containing rolling hills, moorland, woodland, ponds and streams to the east of Chorley, Lancashire, between the M61 and the West Pennine Moors. To its ...
area close to Winter Hill. Tony Crook, from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, has stated that “Police are now attending that scene, to try to apprehend those arsonists”.
Glenshane Pass
A large
gorse
''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...
fire broke out in the
Glenshane Pass
The Glenshane Pass () is a major mountain pass cutting through the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is in the townland of Glenshane Pass on the main Derry to Belfast route, the A6.
A large wildfire broke out in Gl ...
area of the
Sperrins
The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a range of mountains in Northern Ireland and one of the largest upland areas in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane eastwards to Slieve Gallion in Desertmartin and north towards Limava ...
in
County Londonderry
County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, in the early hours of 27 June 2018; the first call to emergency services came at 04:57 am.
By the end of the day, five separate fires in the pass had rapidly grown to cover an area of over in total,
with firefighters struggling to reach the fire due to extremely high temperatures; elsewhere in Northern Ireland, temperatures reached 29.6 °C on 27 June, marking the hottest June day in the province since 1995.
After attempting unsuccessfully to reach the isolated fire on foot for more than an hour during the daytime, firefighters eventually had to be airlifted into the area by helicopter later in the day as temperatures dropped.
Her Majesty's Coastguard
His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the ...
and
Forest Service Northern Ireland
The Forest Service Northern Ireland is an executive agency of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development entrusted with the development of forestry and the management of forests in Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 1998.
The ...
were deployed to assist crews from the
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service with tackling the Glenshane Pass fire,
with the Coastguard providing helicopters to transport firefighters to and from the scene and drop water on the fire from above. Multiple fire crews from
Ballymena
Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim.
The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
,
Cookstown
Cookstown ( ga, An Chorr Chríochach, IPA: anˠˈxoːɾˠɾˠˈçɾʲiːxəx is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth largest town in the county and had a population of 11,599 in the 2011 census. It, along with Maghe ...
,
Dungiven,
Kilrea
Kilrea ( , ) is a village, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It gets its name from the ancient church that was located near to where the current Church of Ireland is located on Church Street looking over the tow ...
,
Maghera
Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distri ...
and
Magherafelt
Magherafelt (, mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...
fire stations were sent to the scene of the fire, alongside a specialist Command Support Unit from
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
.
Roads through the Glenshane Pass remained open during the fire, although smoke hindered visibility, with the
Northern Ireland Weather and Flood Advisory Service warning motorists to take care and prepare for possible short-notice travel disruption.
Vale of Rheidol
On 26 June 2018, two crews from the
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service ( cy, Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Canolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru) is the fire and rescue service covering the Welsh principal areas of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, ...
responded to a large grass and, later, forest fire
alongside the
A4120 in the
Vale of Rheidol close to
Aberystwyth
Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...
in
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...
.
The road remained open during the fire. The first calls to emergency services regarding the fire were logged at around 11:30 am, with temperatures in the area reaching 30 °C on what was the hottest day of the year to date for that area.
The wildfire caused the suspension of heritage rail services on the preserved
Vale of Rheidol Railway
The Vale of Rheidol Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Cwm Rheidol) is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Ceredigion, Wales, between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge; a journey of .
It opened in 1902, and from the withdrawal of main line steam on Briti ...
, with 150 passengers stuck on a train close to
Devil's Bridge railway station
, type = Station on heritage railway
, image = Devil's Bridge station geograph-3863545-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
, caption = Devil's Bridge station, showing the two platforms in use.
, borough ...
having to be rescued and returned to Aberystwyth by bus.
Rail services remained suspended the following day
as fire crews continued to fight the fire in a valley close to the railway line.
Owing to the fire's inaccessibility by road, a specialised
Permaquip road-railer was sent to tackle the conflagration from the railway line, although it is now largely being left to burn itself out.
The cause of the wildfire has not yet been determined.
Mynydd Cilgwyn
On 2 July about 15 homes were evacuated as more than 40 firefighters fought a mile-long mountain fire in
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
. The
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service
The North Wales Fire and Rescue Service (NWFRS; cy, Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Gogledd Cymru) is the fire and rescue service covering the principal areas of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham in the north of Wales. ...
said the gorse blaze, at Mynydd Cilgwyn in
Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
, was one of several fires the service was attending. It also had crews at fires in
Talsarnau
Talsarnau () or Talsamau is a village and community in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd in Wales. Its population was 525 in 2001, and had increased to 550 at the 2011 Census.
The village of Talsarnau is situated on the A496 coastal road between ...
,
Rhiw,
Llanycil
Llanycil is a community in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, near Bala, and is 99.9 miles (160.7 km) from Cardiff and 176.2 miles (283.6 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Llanycil was 416 with 80.4% of them able to speak Welsh. The ...
and
Bangor Mountain
Bangor Mountain (Welsh: ''Mynydd Bangor'') is a scarp face of a hill below which the city of Bangor in Gwynedd, Wales, sits.
Though not a mountain in the true sense of the word it is so-called because of the way it rears up behind Bangor and ap ...
in Gwynedd and
Newborough Forest
Newborough Forest (Welsh language, Welsh: Coedwig Niwbwrch) is a forest to the west of Newborough, Anglesey, North Wales.
It is one of the most important red squirrel conservation sites in the United Kingdom. It appears increasingly likely that ...
, Anglesey. It said a village hall would be used as a rest centre for residents affected.
Epping Forest
Forty pumps and 225 firefighters from the
London Fire Brigade
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, in ...
attended a large fire on
Wanstead Flats
Wanstead Flats is the southernmost portion of Epping Forest, in Leytonstone and Wanstead, London. The flats and by extension the forest ends at Forest Gate directly to the south. It now falls wholly within the boundaries of the London Boroughs ...
and
Leyton Flats, part of
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is a area of ancient woodland, and other established habitats, which straddles the border between Greater London and Essex. The main body of the forest stretches from Epping in the north, to Chingford on the edge of the London ...
on the 15 July 2018. 110 calls were made to the fire service and the fire burnt 100 hectares (247 acres). 100 firefighters had to remain for two days to dampen down the ground. The fire was a threat to a large residential area, over 100 people were evacuated, and one firefighter was injured.
Somerset
A number of wildfires were reported in
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
. In the early hours of 26 June, three crews from the
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the county of Devon (including the unitary authorities of Plymouth and Torbay) and the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West Engla ...
attended two unrelated garden fires in
Peasedown St John
Peasedown St John (commonly referred to as Peasedown) is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, standing on a hilltop roughly south-southwest of the city of Bath, and north-east of the town of Radstock at the foot of the Mendip Hills. ...
; later that day, a grass fire was reported on nearby
Keel's Hill, forcing the closure of the nearby Bath Road. Several bus routes were cancelled or diverted as a result.
At around 10:35 am on 27 June, a grass fire broke out on an embankment alongside the
A4174
The A4174 is a major ring road in England which runs around the northern and eastern edge of Bristol, mainly in South Gloucestershire, and through the southern suburbs of the city. When it was first conceived it was planned to circle the whole ...
Ring Road,
Longwell Green
Longwell Green is a suburb just outside the east fringe of Bristol. Longwell Green takes its name from the medieval well which used to be situated on the site of the Church. It is located within the traditional county of Gloucestershire and t ...
which was closed for several hours as a result as crews from the
Avon Fire and Rescue Service
Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) is the fire and rescue service covering the unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire in South West England.
The headquarters of the service is co ...
brought the fire under control. Footage of the fire filmed from a passing lorry later went viral on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
.
Staffordshire
From late afternoon on 30 June, up to 45 firefighters from
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service
Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of Staffordshire and unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent. The county ha ...
batted a blaze between
Thorncliffe,
Shawfield
Shawfield is an industrial/commercial area of the Royal Burgh of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located to the north of the town centre. It is bordered to the east by the River Clyde, to the north by the Glasgow neighbourhood of Oa ...
and Royal Cottage in the
Staffordshire Moorlands
Staffordshire Moorlands is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Staffordshire, England. Its council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, is based in Leek, Staffordshire, Leek and is located between the city of Stoke-on- ...
.
A further fire broke out in woodland near
Alton Towers on 2 July.
A separate wildfire broke out over a month later, on the afternoon of 9 August at
Upper Hulme.
This continued to burn the rest of the month and, at its height, covered a significantly larger area than the two earlier fires in the county. Despite a period of rain, which initially helped, windy conditions meant the fire spread to cover 219 acres by 11 August.
Smoke from the fire had reached
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
and parts of North Derbyshire, 28 miles away.
Devon
Later on the morning of 27 June, a large fire broke out at a landfill site in
Burlescombe
Burlescombe (, ) is a village and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Holcombe Rogus, Culmstock, Uffculme, Halberton and Sampford Peverell. According ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
.
Powys
On 27 June, a small grass fire broke out on
Breidden Hill
Breidden Hill is an extinct volcanic hill in Powys, Wales, near the town of Welshpool. It is immediately surrounded by the villages of Trewern, Middletown, Criggion, Crew Green and Llandrinio. The peak of the hill reaches to . Footpaths which ...
close to
Admiral Rodney's Pillar
Admiral Rodney's Pillar ( Welsh: ''Pilar Rodney'') is a monument on Breidden Hill in Powys, Wales. It was built in 1781–82 to commemorate the naval victories of Sir George Brydges Rodney, Admiral of the White during the American War of Indepe ...
, between
Welshpool
Welshpool ( cy, Y Trallwng) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn; its Welsh language name ''Y Trallwng'' m ...
and
Llanymynech in
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
. A crew from the
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service
The Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service ( cy, Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub Canolbarth a Gorllewin Cymru) is the fire and rescue service covering the Welsh principal areas of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, ...
attended the wildfire, arriving at 11:52 am,
and it was contained within two hours; the cause of the fire is not currently known.
Ben Bhraggie
Firefighters were called in the early hours of 7 July to a fire near the Duke of Sutherland monument. The fire was at a
tree plantation
A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...
near
Golspie
Golspie ( , gd, Goillspidh) is a village and parish in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie. It has a population of around 1,350.
History
The name derives from the Norse for "gull ...
,
Sutherland
Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...
and smoke from it covered a wide area.
Worcestershire
First broke out on 2 July 2018 on
Beacon Hill and at Earnslaw Quarry. Thirty firefighters attended and
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
The Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering Herefordshire and Worcestershire in the West Midlands region of England. The service covers an area of , and a population of around 7 ...
said the fire was in a "difficult location". Six fire engines and crews, from
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dra ...
,
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
,
Upton-upon-Severn
Upton-upon-Severn (or Upton on Severn, etc. and locally simply Upton) is a town and civil parish in the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Lying on the A4104 (formerly A440), the 2011 census recorded a population of 2,881 for th ...
,
Droitwich
Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester.
The ...
,
Whitchurch,
Ledbury and
Ross-on-Wye
Ross-on-Wye ( Welsh: ''Rhosan ar Wy'') is a market town in England, near the border with Wales. It had a population of 10,582 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 11,309 in 2019. It lies in south-eastern Herefordshire, on the River Wye ...
, attended, plus two restricted access vehicles and a water carrier. It said officers had been called to 17 grass fires in the past fortnight.
Yorkshire
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue
South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue is the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of South Yorkshire, England. The service covers the areas of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. In 2020, Chris Kirby was appointed its Chief Fire ...
attended two large grass fires on 27 June. The first, off Crookes Lane in
Carlton
Carlton may refer to:
People
* Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname
* Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy
* Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...
,
Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
, was reported at around 3 pm and was contained by 7:30 pm, and is believed to have been started deliberately.
The second, in
Middlewood,
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
, was first reported at around 8 pm, sending smoke billowing across the city.
Between 28 June and 1 July, the
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service
The West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) is the county-wide, statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is administered by a joint authority of 22 people who are appointed an ...
(WYFRS) responded to 678 incidents, of which 438 incidents (65% of all callouts) were in relation to wildfires. This included 99 separate wildfire incidents in
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
on 28 June alone.
One particularly severe wildfire broke out on a hillside above Old Lane in
Boothtown
Boothtown is a suburb of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, which falls within Town Ward, one of the 17 wards of Calderdale.
Its history was dominated by the mills of the textile industry. Rawson's Mill on Old Lane is now disused and designat ...
,
Halifax on 1 July, burning within of three residential blocks of
flats
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
on Canterbury Crescent before being brought under control. In a press release on 2 July, the WYFRS described the ongoing series of wildfires across the county as "unprecedented".
On 2 September, a bushfire broke out in the
Parkwood Springs area in the north of
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
. The wildfire, which was later determined to have been caused by
arson
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
, burned for around five hours before being contained. The fire destroyed around of steep hillside shrubland habitat on the hills above the city, as well as numerous buildings and structures at the abandoned
Sheffield Ski Village site.
Wiltshire
On 2 July 2018, fire crews were called to a fire in
Dinton, Wiltshire
Dinton is a village, civil parish and former manor in Wiltshire, England, in the Nadder valley on the B3089 road about west of Salisbury. The parish population was 696 at the 2011 census, estimated at 733 in 2019. The civil parish includes t ...
. The fire broke out in a field off Hinton Road with the blaze encompassing around of land. The farmer helped firefighters by using a plough to create a fire break to stop the flames from spreading. Firefighters also dampened the hedges around to also prevent spreading.
Highlands
A wildfire occurred near Temple Pier in
Drumnadrochit
Drumnadrochit (; gd, Druim na Drochaid) is a village in the Highland local government council area of Scotland, lying near the west shore of Loch Ness at the foot of Glen Urquhart. The village is close to several neighbouring settlements: the vi ...
of
the Highlands
Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau.
Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to:
Places Albania
* Dukagjin Highlands
Armenia
* Armenian Highlands
Australia
*Sou ...
on 2 September 2018.
Other impacts
The
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Derbyshire, England.
History
The Fire Services Act 1947 created two brigades for Derbyshire the County Borough of Derby Fire Brigade and the Derby ...
,
Ruth George
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
(Member of Parliament for
High Peak), and others called for the cancellation of The Lights Fest, a mass release of
sky lantern
A sky lantern (), also known as Kǒngmíng lantern (), or Chinese lantern, is a small hot air balloon made of paper, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended.
In Asia and elsewhere around the world, sky lanterns have bee ...
s scheduled to be held on 28 July at
Buxton Raceway, near the
Derbyshire moors. Event organisers responded by stating that the type of lanterns used did not pose a fire risk,
but the event was eventually cancelled.
See also
*
List of wildfires
This is a list of notable wildfires.
Asia
China
*1987 – The Black Dragon Fire started in China and burnt a total of of forest along the Amur river, with destroyed on the Chinese side.
Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of Chin ...
*
2018 British Isles heat wave
The 2018 Britain and Ireland heat wave was a period of unusually hot weather that took place in June, July and August. It caused widespread drought, hosepipe bans, crop failures, and a number of wildfires. These wildfires worst affected northern ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildfires, United Kingdom, 2018
2018 disasters in the United Kingdom
2018 fires in the United Kingdom
2018 heat waves
United Kindgom
July 2018 events in the United Kingdom
June 2018 events in the United Kingdom
September 2018 events in the United Kingdom
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...