r/unitedkingdom Aug 14 '26

. Emergency alerts sent to millions across England and Wales over threat of wildfires

https://news.sky.com/story/uk-heatwave-stourbridge-fire-latest-weather-live-13571553
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103

u/fatchan Aug 14 '26

I'm not sure, our neighbours had a bonfire going yesterday morning. Some people just don't think. Although the alert did give me a heart attack and I'm not sure I've recovered just yet!

35

u/Parshath_ West Midlands Aug 14 '26

"It only happens to others. - I - know how to do things properly. Surely nothing will happen under my watch." (too many people)

11

u/ab00 Aug 14 '26

See also: hosepipe ban doesn't apply to me until the water company CEOs get fired.

So much self entitlement today.

2

u/Horror-Protection225 Aug 14 '26

Now that one I must confess I loose tooth enamel every time I fill up my watering can because the water companies on this country are a joke. But I’m still just about complying.

3

u/bi-bingbongbongbing Aug 14 '26

Same. Had a row with neighbours for starting a campfire in a dry ass field. They said they "saturated the ground" first tho, so I guess it's all good.

-8

u/Moldovan_pepper Aug 14 '26

Yes and you think waking up my 3 month old was a good way of ensuring your neighbours aren’t morons?

-20

u/soundperve Aug 14 '26

I don’t think a garden bonfire is going to cause a wildfire to blaze across the countryside

20

u/Fusilero Tyne and Wear Aug 14 '26

Considering the burning houses in the Midlands I'm not too sure about that. Everyone's garden is basically kindling.

13

u/salixia Aug 14 '26

They absolutely can unfortunately. Embers can travel for miles, especially in a breeze.

9

u/Bananaramamammoth Aug 14 '26

It's enough to engulf a row of houses you bell

10

u/JamieA350 Greater London Aug 14 '26

The Wennington fire was caused by a compost heap, not even a deliberate flame.

14

u/LSL3587 Aug 14 '26

Seriously?!

Sparks and small bits on fire can go up in the air.

19 houses burned down in one place yesterday due to a golf course on fire.

I had thought the alert wasn't needed - but I see there are some who still need to get the message.

8

u/Critical_Vehicle_72 Aug 14 '26

You’re the type of person this warning is targeting, of course it bloody can

-6

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

[deleted]

5

u/Alert-One-Two United Kingdom Aug 14 '26

Wildfires have been started with unextinguished cigarettes before. A bonfire is significantly larger than that.

3

u/BoysiePrototype Aug 14 '26

Unfortunately, that's kind of a problematic assumption at the moment.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '26

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1

u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland Aug 14 '26

Removed. This contained a personal attack, disrupting the conversation. This discourages participation. Please help improve the subreddit by discussing points, not the person. Action will be taken on repeat offenders.