A major incident has been declared in Norfolk after a wildfire broke out at Dunwich Heath, with firefighters spending the night tackling the blaze on the Suffolk coast. Homes were evacuated as thick smoke billowed into the sky, turning it a dark orange.
The fire is just four miles away from the Sizewell B nuclear plant. Suffolk County Council has said there is 'no current risk' to the site.
Heatwave and drought conditions
The UK is in the grip of a fourth heatwave this year, with temperatures exceeding 30°C in parts of the country. Half of England is officially in drought, and 21 counties are under a hosepipe ban affecting 23 million people. The parched conditions have turned the landscape into a tinderbox, prompting widespread wildfire warnings from fire chiefs.
Firefighters are tackling several outbreaks, including one in the Cairngorms in Scotland that has been burning for two weeks.
Fire response
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said it has focused on protecting properties including Coastguard Cottages, Mount Pleasant Farm and Cliff House Holiday Park, and advised people to avoid the area. The fire broke out shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday and spread towards St James' Church.
An amber heat-health alert is in place for the East Midlands, the East, South East and London. Some respite is expected, with temperatures forecast to fall to average levels across much of the country from Thursday.
Forecast and wider impacts
Deputy Chief Forecaster Mark Sidaway said: 'The forecast is showing potential for more rain than much of the UK has experienced over the last few weeks. However, it looks as though amounts of rain for many will be fairly modest, and won’t balance out the shortfall that we have recorded this summer. It’s still possible that some areas of the south will miss out and see little or no rainfall.'
Elsewhere in Europe, wildfires have devastated areas in France and Spain, leading to around 330,000 evacuations across the two countries. In Greece, three firefighters were killed tackling separate blazes in Crete and the southern Peloponnese region.
