Fire and rescue services (FRSs) are under strain following record numbers of wildfires across the country, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has warned
Data from FRSs in England and Wales show that, as of 12 August 2025, emergency services have responded to 856 wildfire incidents in the UK.
Figures collected by National Resilience for the end of July 2025 reveal a 33% increase in wildfire incidents compared to the same period in 2022 – a previous record year for wildfires with 596 wildfires reported.
“The contrast with last year is even starker”, NFCC added.
“Between 1 January and 31 July 2024, there were 104 wildfires. This year’s total over the same period is 663% higher.”
This “unprecedented surge in wildfires” has put firefighters “under increasing pressure”, fire chiefs warned.
The most resource-heavy of these incidents took place on 9 August 2025, when more than 100 firefighters responded to a fire at Holt Heath near Wimborne. This, in addition to the ongoing blaze at Newton Heath, near Swanage, led to a major incident being declared by Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service (DWFRS).
Both fires had a “significant impact on the overall availability of resources”, DWFRS said, with neighbouring Hampshire and Isle of Wight and Devon and Somerset fire and rescue services and even Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester being called on to provide additional support.
NFCC Chair, Phil Garrigan, said that firefighters were “already being pushed to their limits”, with these recent wildfires “showing just how demanding and dangerous these events can be”.
“Each wildfire can take days – sometimes weeks – to bring under control, tying up crews and specialist equipment and placing huge strain on other vital fire and rescue work. There’s a real human toll on our firefighters too, who are undertaking the most arduous work in the toughest conditions.
“We are already seeing more wildfires at this point in the year than in 2022 — which itself was a record year — and that is deeply concerning. This is against a backdrop of sustained cuts in funding and reducing firefighter numbers – with 11,000 fewer firefighters in England now than there were 10 years ago, alongside a 20% increase in demand over the same period. Climate change is fuelling more frequent and intense extreme weather events, and wildfires are no longer a seasonal threat; they are a persistent and growing risk to life, property, and the environment,” Garrigan added.
“Meeting this challenge will require long-term, sustained investment so that fire and rescue services have the people, resources, and equipment they need to protect our communities, no matter how many fronts they are fighting on.”
NFCC has also issued safety advice for the public, including not using disposable barbecues in open countryside, parks, and moorland areas, and not discarding cigarettes, matches, or glass bottles, as they can ignite dry vegetation.