UK Wildfires This Year Have Already Beaten All of Last Year

By mid-August 2026, England and Wales had more wildfires than in all of 2025 — itself the worst year on record. On August 13, fire crews handled 11 big emergencies in one day. The prime minister said Britain is "a tinderbox," meaning dangerously dry and easy to burn. Soldiers helped firefighters in southern England. Two record years in a row suggest a trend.