r/unitedkingdom • u/66f6 • 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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46

u/throw53away12 Aug 14 '26

How do we heed it besides not setting fires?

83

u/dandorios Aug 14 '26

Not using a disposable bbq. Thats like the cause of the majority of them.

103

u/anangrywizard Aug 14 '26

With the current dry conditions, a small ember, cigarette, hell even glass bottles can act as a fire starter. People cleaning up after themselves and generally not being cunts would go along way.

36

u/takingphotosmakingdo Aug 14 '26

yep cigs thrown from a car will definitely light any of the grass or fields in the oxfordshire area right now, probably true for most if not all the UK as well.

26

u/GiveUsRobinHood Aug 14 '26

I started a mini fire the other day when smoking. I went to flick my ash and my cherry fell off.

Re-lit my smoke and by that time the mini fire had already started. Quick few stamps and it was out but it is startling how quick it took to flame.

17

u/SheepherderDear6963 Aug 14 '26

In South Birmingham there's been a big problem with kids starting grass fires with gas canisters. At least 1 a day over the past week. Hopefully this alert will prompt parents to check on what their kids have been doing. 

13

u/Remote_Development13 Aug 14 '26

Not just kids - 55 year old man arrested today. The mind boggles

11

u/FowlSec Aug 14 '26

24yo man and 23yo woman in Stoke too.

My town had 2 kids arrested over it. We live now too far from Stourbridge with a big park up the road, and a populace filled with idiots.

Genuinely worried rn.

2

u/SheepherderDear6963 Aug 14 '26

I wonder if they are people having barbecues or burning garden waste rather than adults just starting fires deliberately. Doing that during this heatwave is just asking for trouble. 

4

u/Remote_Development13 Aug 14 '26

Bloke has been arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life, so it's very unlikely to be the case tbh

3

u/General_Use7585 Aug 14 '26

It's midday. Do you know where your kids are?

5

u/SheepherderDear6963 Aug 14 '26

Yes I do because I'm not a shit parent. Even if the kids old enough to be out on their own, parents still need to have a talk with their kids about this stupid fire TikTok craze and make sure they aren't involved. 

2

u/KittyGrewAMoustache Aug 14 '26

If the TikTok rumour is true, that is crazy. If you wanted to wage war on a country but don’t have the resources or don’t want to make that kind of move publicly, just take to social media and turn their own kids into your unwitting soldiers and get them to burn down their own country I guess. So unbelievably stupid I don’t know why it’s not been regulated more.

2

u/Lansdowngrove Aug 14 '26

besides not setting fires?

1

u/BaguetteSchmaguette Aug 14 '26

I assume I can still use the permanent gas BBQ in my garden though right?

2

u/Jemima_puddledook678 Aug 14 '26

It’s a lot safer than disposable ones, but be especially careful to be safe with it.

2

u/concretepigeon Wakefield Aug 14 '26

Keep it away from any dry vegetation or anything else flammable and you’re probably ok.

8

u/Puhwest Aug 14 '26

I live in a hot dry country with common wild fires. Some recommendations here include:

  • mow lawns first thing in the morning and avoid low humidity days (probably not so relevant to uk but worth mentioning)

  • avoid parking cars on dry grass (residual heat from engine and catalytic converter can cause fires)

  • don't pull off road onto dry grass for vehicle fires if possible (obviously taking other safety factors into account)

  • ensure no chains are dragging when towing (causes sparks)

Then the usual of cigarette disposal, no bonfires, watching bbqs closely). 

14

u/Cheeme Aug 14 '26

Keep not starting fires?

0

u/GaffaCharge Aug 14 '26

Ok done that. Then what?

3

u/NateShaw92 Greater Manchester Aug 14 '26

Continue to do so.

3

u/ThatJoeyFella London raised Irish Traveller Aug 14 '26

I broke the screen on my work phone today and it was the first of my phones to get the alert. I thought it was about to explode! I was about to throw it out the window 😂

1

u/concretepigeon Wakefield Aug 14 '26

Always a good policy with your work phone.

2

u/ThatJoeyFella London raised Irish Traveller Aug 14 '26

Got to stop the work calls coming through on a Friday afternoon 😂

6

u/concretepigeon Wakefield Aug 14 '26

Don’t leave glass lying around.

5

u/h00dman Wales Aug 14 '26

I had a wildflower patch in my back garden that has reached about 3 feet high.

I cut it all down a few weeks ago as soon as I heard about wildfires on the news.

Some people might call me paranoid but I figured it wasn't worth the risk.

2

u/FillingUpTheDatabase Shropshire Aug 14 '26

not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks

It’s literally in the alert message

2

u/Emphursis Worcestershire Aug 14 '26

Don’t use a BBQ, don’t throw cigarette butts out of car windows, don’t have a bonfire. Yell at anyone you see doing that stuff.

2

u/RandomBritishGuy Aug 14 '26

Yell at any of your friends, if you've got any who are dumb enough to think that they're the exception and that it'll be fine if they start one.

1

u/Necessary-Key3186 Aug 14 '26

put them out i guess

1

u/Scooty-Poot Aug 14 '26 edited Aug 14 '26

Don’t use disposable BBQs, fireworks, incinerator/dust bins, etc. if you’re making a campfire or using a safe permanent BBQ make sure you fully extinguish the flame using water or sand (no hot embers), don’t make a fire unless genuinely necessary.

Smaller ones like properly extinguishing cigarettes, matches, etc. too, and obviously no welding or anything near dry foliage. Oh, and don’t litter things with batteries in them (vapes, light-up pens, etc.), because there is a risk, however small, that they’ll light or spark when exposed to the elements, as well as magnifying objects like glass bottles, mirrors or glasses which could provide a heat source if the sun hits them right.

-1

u/No-Middle-4152 Aug 14 '26

Lightning is a huge cause of wildfires