UK Defends Wildfire Alert Sent During 43 Fires and 11 Major Incidents
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 17
UK Defends Wildfire Alert Sent During 43 Fires and 11 Major Incidents
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 17
Summary
43 fires and 11 major incidents were active when ministers approved Friday’s nationwide wildfire phone alert, the government said, calling the move “entirely appropriate” after fire chiefs sought it.
Military support was needed as resources were stretched “to the very limit,” officials said, and the alert warned millions across England and Wales to avoid disposable barbecues, naked flames and fireworks.
Phil Garrigan of the National Fire Chiefs Council said wildfire callouts had fallen over the past 72 hours, though four major incidents remained in Hampshire, Cambridgeshire, South Wales and the West Midlands.
The alert still drew criticism because many people got little advance notice, prompting Women’s Aid to warn that sudden alarms can expose domestic abuse survivors who hide secret phones.
Questions also persisted over why Welsh-language alerts arrived before English ones; the government cited legal duties under the Welsh Language Act and said bilingual alerts are used where possible.