Fire crews sent into blazes without proper kit as England records second-worst wildfire year ever

From the Newshound archive · first published 8 October 2026 · last updated 9 October 2026.

England recorded 1,354 wildfires between January and August 2026 — the second-highest annual total since records began in 2010 — yet FOI data shows that more than half of fire services lack wildfire PPE and a third have no drones at all. Research by the Country Land and Business Association found that 77% of councils dealt with more wildfires in the first six months of 2026 than throughout the whole of 2024, with some response times stretching beyond 21 hours.

July alone saw 624 wildfires — a monthly record — including a blaze that burned close to Sizewell B nuclear power station.

Large wildfires over 10,000 square metres soared 93% on 2025, while fire appliance use already exceeds any previous full year on record.

2026 also marks the first recorded wildfire death in the data series — a 70-year-old man killed in a blaze near Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire.