By Ruth Waters, Regional Director for the North of England, Operations Directorate, Natural England
The UK is facing a growing wildfire crisis this year, with prolonged hot, dry weather fuelling blazes across our moors, farmland and urban parks. This blog explores why wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe, the role climate change plays in heightening the risk, and the wider consequences for our landscapes and water supplies. It also sets out what Natural England is doing to reduce wildfire risk on its nature reserves, and how partnerships are helping to tackle the issue on the ground.
This year we are experiencing large scale wildfires devastating the UK’s landscapes, from our moors and dales to farmland and urban parks. Prolonged hot and dry weather has provided the ideal conditions for fires to take hold, which we have also seen in mainland Europe. France has declared their ongoing wildfire situation as the worst crisis to face the country since the Second World War.
What are wildfires and why have there been so many recently?In the UK the term “wildfire” means any uncontrolled blaze on vegetation that needs action to extinguish. Virtually all wildfires in this country are caused by human activity, from the careless (e.g. negligent use of barbecues) to the deliberate (e.g. arson), as well as the inadvertent, such as agricultural equipment faults and “managed fires” (e.g. heather/grass burning) escaping control.
Our own records show that there have been over 240 reported wildfires this year on our most precious sites –Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) – including a 1,500 hectares fire in the Peak District (including Dove Stone RSPB reserve) which has damaged moorland valued for its blanket bog and heathland habitats, as well as breeding populations of birds such as golden plover and merlin. This fire was started by people setting off fireworks – so far one person from Greater Manchester has been charged with multiple criminal offences relating to the incident.
Most recently a fire at Dunwich Heath in Suffolk engulfed some 150 hectares, with the National Trust estimating it could take 25 years for the site to recover. At the height of the fire over 100 firefighters were needed to bring it under control, with hundreds of homes and caravans evacuated.
The consequences of climate changeClimate change is heightening the risk of wildfires. Extreme weather events are increasing, and like 2025, this summer has seen prolonged periods of dry weather alongside a series of record-breaking heatwaves across the world.
On 29th July, the Environment Agency announced that more than half of England was in drought. Looking more widely, Europe has warmed almost twice as fast as the global average. A warming atmosphere combined with prolonged dry conditions accelerates moisture removal from vegetation and soils. This creates an abundance of dry fuel for blazes to take hold and spread.
It’s not just the direct destruction from the fires themselves that we need to deal with. The bare, dry soil they leave behind repels water from the next rainfall event, causing run-off that can lead to soil erosion and flooding. In addition, sediment flowing into watercourses adds to the treatment costs for drinking water (over 70% of our drinking water comes from our uplands), which is then passed onto customers through higher water bills.
What is Natural England doing right now? Bunding on The Roaches, Peak District, playing a key role in slowing the spread of a wildfire on valued peatlands. Credit: Chris Fry Reducing wildfire risks and impacts on our National Nature ReservesAs a landowner ourselves, we continue to put measures in place on our National Nature Reserves (NNRs) to adapt and respond to increasing wildfire risk. We are responsible for the management of over 130 NNRs – not all are at high risk from wildfire, but many are and climate change will see more of our NNRs at risk of either accidental or deliberate fires. We have developed wildfire emergency plans for our high-risk reserves that has information that will help our staff and the fire service in the event of fire such as access points, key-holders and muster points.
We ensure staff on high-risk sites have received specialist vegetation fire training provided through LANTRA and the Forestry Commission, and that we have the specialist equipment available to support fire and rescue services and to fight minor fires ourselves.
We incorporate fire reduction measures into our core site management. This reduces the ‘fuel’ available to a fire. For example, the using firebreaks of broad leaf woodland and vegetation management such as grazing and cutting to stop a fire from spreading.
We use more active restoration measures to give nature a helping hand, like stone dams or bunds to hold back water in our peatlands, keeping water in the landscape for longer. Maintaining fire breaks and access routes also helps move firefighting equipment to isolated parts of our estate.
Prevention is better than cureOn our most vulnerable sites during periods of high fire risk, we present a more active, visible warden presence, supported by signage and publicity. This isn’t just aimed at deterring those who start fires deliberately, but at reducing the risk from accidental fires caused by discarded cigarettes or glass bottles or people using disposable barbeques.
Experience has demonstrated that where we are able to provide a high-profile warden presence that engages with the public constructively, fire incidents are reduced. In extreme cases we can temporally reduce access to an area to protect the public.
Cutting a Firebreak on Humberhead Peatlands National Nature Reserve Working in partnershipWe work with partners across England on a number of wildfire issues.Nationally Natural England administer the Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme, working with landowners and over 100 partners to rewet and restore peatlands, which holds more water in the landscape making it more difficult for fire to spread. Natural England are also part of the England and Wales Wildfire Forum which works to expand understanding of wildfires to reduce the impact they have.
At a local level, Natural England is a member of the Dorset Heaths Partnership which has been exploring ways to tackle wildfire issues since 2007. The Partnership includes site managers, the Fire and Rescue Service and the police.
A volunteer member of the K9 Firewise patrol in Dorset. Credit: Dorset DogsThe partners operate a WhatsApp group to both rapidly notify managers of a wildfire incident but also to coordinate water bowsers, equipment to cut and extend firebreaks and to advise the emergency services of site hazards and sensitive areas.
A dedicated partnership warden team works with local people, especially dog walkers, to rapidly report incidents and help engage with those that are unaware of the dangers of wildfire. Fire access points are all mapped and coded for ease of incident reporting and, more recently, QR codes have been added so the emergency services can get to the right locations quickly.
What Next?A key finding of the latest adaptation report from the Climate Change Committee (CCC) - A Well-Adapted UK, is that coordination is lacking in a range of areas to manage the increasing risks to society from climate change. The report recommends the UK Government facilitates coordinated assessment and management of cascading climate risks between sectors and joint planning of the responses to extreme events (including wildfires).
At Natural England we have established a new Wildfire Project Group to co-ordinate the organisation’s work on wildfires, which is multi-faceted given our statutory duties as well as our landowner role. This group will review our procedures and ensure we continue to use the best available evidence to inform our decision-making and advice to Government. It will also consider our current approaches to more short-term wildfire mitigation measures, against the backdrop of our overall aim of recovering our ecosystems to bring long-term resilience to the growing challenges of climate change.
Natural England is also working closely with Defra, the Forestry Commission and Environment Agency on a co-ordinated approach to wildfire planning and response, feeding up to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as overall department lead for wildfire.
seen at 09:43, 10 August in Natural England.