UK Sends Nationwide Fire Alert, Bans Disposable Barbecues as 11 Major Incidents Hit
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Aug 14
UK Sends Nationwide Fire Alert, Bans Disposable Barbecues as 11 Major Incidents Hit
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 14
Summary
Emergency alerts hit phones across England and Wales on Friday, warning of a “very high risk of wildfires” and telling residents to avoid any activity that could start fires.
11 major incidents were declared in the past 24 hours, fire chiefs said, with this year’s wildfire total already above previous records as drought and temperatures above 38C leave Britain “a tinderbox.”
Stourbridge underscored the danger after a blaze destroyed 19 homes, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK lacks firefighting planes and would seek to commission some.
Across Europe, the same hot, dry spell has driven evacuations from Spain, Germany, France, Croatia and Greece, including 1,200 people in Croatia and more than 300 by boat in northern Greece.