- Guardians of England's largest forests face severe challenges from "Mediterranean-style fire weather" if blazes erupt, a senior adviser to the Forestry Commission has warned.
- Speaking to the the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Rob Gazzard spoke of the “extreme wildfire scenarios” experienced in 2022, describing the conditions as “Mediterranean weather – the same fire weather as Spain and Portugal, which we’re going to be experiencing this week.”
- He added: “And those extreme scenarios are going to be very challenging to us. In essence, it might challenge our capabilities and our capacity.”
- Over 800 wildfires were recorded on on 12 July 2022 when temperatures hit 40.3C, with the London Fire Brigade alone responding to 106 incidents.
- The National Fire Chiefs Council chairman, Phil Garrigan, suggested a “rating system for fire risk” to restrict activities in wildfire-prone places like disposable barbecues, or in extreme cases, “restrictions around movement of people”.
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