Tinderbox Britain: Hundreds of holidaymakers evacuated as firefighters battle wildfire in Suffolk while grass fires rage in London – with half of England in ‘exceptionally serious’ drought

A huge wildfire raging near Sizewell in Suffolk has grown tenfold in just a matter of hours, officials have said.

Hundreds of holidaymakers have been evacuated as the ‘out of control’ blaze moves south-east, although firefighters have insisted there is no current risk to the nuclear power station.

Fire crews have also been putting their engines in front of people’s houses and spraying properties with water to protect them from flames.

The fire broke out near the National Trust’s Coastguard Cottages on Dunwich Heath, on the Suffolk coast at around 5.30pm yesterday, and is said to be ‘spreading rapidly’.

This morning Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze covered around 24 acres, but by midday this had increased to the size of 140 football pitches, or 247.1 acres.

Some 100 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the inferno and a major incident has been declared, with EDF, which runs Sizewell B, confirming it is ‘closely monitoring’ the situation.

A change in the wind prompted homeowners to be evacuated this morning, after 200 caravans at a holiday park on the coast were emptied overnight. 

Around 48 people, including families with babies and dogs, are currently taking shelter at Westleton Village Hall after being rushed out of their homes at 11.30pm. Holidaymaker Justin North said there was a ‘kind of blitz spirit’ among the people evacuated who were just ‘happy to be safe and out’.

Meanwhile, around 120 firefighters tackled two large grass fires in east London yesterday. Around 30 acres of grassland were destroyed in a blaze in Romford, while ten acres were also damaged by flames in Rainham. 

Britain is on high alert for ‘exceptionally severe’ wildfires after more than 200 were recorded in the past two weeks and half of the England has been placed into drought. 

The wildfires raging across Britain, including in Suffolk, come as: 

• Hundreds of holidaymakers were evacuated from caravans along the Suffolk coast as firefighters struggle to contain the blaze on Dunwich Heath. 
• Suffolk Fire and Rescue service said there was no risk to Sizewell B nuclear power station from the wildfire, despite it spreading in the direction of the site.
• Temperatures reached a peak of 35.2C in Writtle, Essex on Wednesday – the hottest of this week’s heatwave so far.
• Firefighters have tackled blazes on parched crop fields in east London and Essex.
• Half of England has been officially placed in drought. The areas affected are: London and Hertfordshire, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex (covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and south Gloucestershire).
• Farming leaders are warning they face ‘the worst harvest in years’ due to successive heatwaves and are calling for more Government support.
• The UK is on track this year for the highest number of deaths caused by heatwaves since current figures began.

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In Suffolk, people have been urged to avoid the area and to keep their windows and doors closed due to smoke. 

The fire began on heathland near the Coastguard Cottages, which are National Trust properties on the Suffolk coastline and is now spreading in the direction of Sizewell B nuclear power station, about 2.5 miles away. 

In an update for residents at Westleton Village Hall at lunchtime, Chief fire officer John Lacey said ‘national assets’ have been requested to support local firefighters, who are ‘tired and worn out’.

Alex Tarry said he heard explosions and saw bushes and trees ‘bursting into flames’ as he jogged along the coast near Sizewell at around 4.30am this morning. 

He told the Daily Mail: ‘I could see a huge wall of smoke and I was running in that direction. I know the site, it is a well-loved local place that is owned by the National Trust.

‘Behind there was a huge fire that was heading in the direction of the cottages. It was a biblical, apocalyptic scene. 

‘I called 999 and until 10 o’clock there was no one there. It was only me.’ 

Mr Tarry explained he helped put out a fire that had started to take hold of a wooden building belong to the National Trust. 

He said: ‘There was a wooden building which schools would use for day trips. I saw outside there was a dog bowl which could be filled with water so I thought I could fight the fire. 

‘I spent around an hour and a half bringing water to put the fire out.’

Speaking near the site, RSPB Suffolk area manager Adam Rowlands said the scale of the blaze was ‘unprecedented in living memory’ and the damage was ‘quite devastating’.

He said: ‘It’s been tinder dry so with the drought conditions, all the vegetation, the ground is extremely dry and so once this fire took off, it spread dramatically and quickly.

‘It’s spreading through the pine trees so in places that’s 20 metres high.’

Mr Rowlands said the affected land, some of which is managed by the National Trust and the RSPB, was home to rare wildlife including nightjars and it would take ‘more than a decade’ for the habitat to recover.

He added: ‘It’s been years of effort to get the habitats in such good condition.

‘You know, the record numbers of nightjars and Dartford warblers and nightingales breeding on the site this summer – so years of hard work to get those bird populations to really evolve, and then absolutely devastated and wiped out by this one event, so it’s really heartbreaking for the team and all the effort they do.’

Suffolk Fire and Rescue service said there is currently no risk to the nearby nuclear power station from the wildfire.

In a statement on Thursday morning, the service said: ‘At this time there is no current risk to Sizewell B, due to the distance from the fire and the direction it is travelling (easterly).

‘However, this is a live and dynamic situation and as a result any further updates will be shared accordingly.’

But it later added that firefighting operations were being ‘strengthened’ due to changing winds that are expected to become ‘variable’ – prompting further evacuations of homes thought to be at risk. 

At Sizewell C to the north, which is currently under construction, officials have said there is currently a ‘low risk’ from the fire. 

An EDF spokesperson said at lunchtime that the wildfire is currently ‘not affecting operations at Sizewell B power station’.

The energy supplier said they are ‘closely monitoring the situation’ as crews continued to battle a fire at Dunwich Heath on Thursday.

It is understood Sizewell B has an emergency plan in place that covers a range of scenarios including a fire on site.

Blazes have similarly swept across parched landscapes in Nethy Bridge in the Scottish Highlands and Blaenavon in South Wales. Crop fields in Essex and the area around Dovestone Reservoir near Oldham have also gone up in flames. 

Meanwhile, new restrictions have been put in place at Dovestone Reservoir as a wildfire continues to rage on the moorland.

The large wildfire, near Greenfield in Oldham, has been burning since Saturday, July 11. 

It remains a major incident as Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) also continue to tackle a wildfire at Swineshaw.

Firefighters are continuing to tackle hotspots in ‘dry and challenging conditions’. Amid the major incident at the beauty spot, new restrictions have been put in place by Oldham Council.

All access to Dovestone Reservoir has now been closed to members of the public.

Temporary traffic restrictions are also in place with access only available to emergency services and residents.

In a post on social media on Wednesday evening, Oldham Council said: ‘Due to the ongoing major incident at Dovestone Reservoir, temporary traffic restrictions are now in place to help emergency services respond safely. 

‘Access to Dovestone is closed to the public. Access is only permitted for emergency services and residents.

‘Please do not drive to the area or park on surrounding roads or in the car park, as this could block access for emergency vehicles and specialist machinery. Public rights of way in the affected area are also closed until 31 August.

‘Thank you for your patience and cooperation while emergency services continue their work.’

The seven areas declared to be in drought are London and Hertfordshire, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, and Wessex (covering Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire and south Gloucestershire).

A 50-year drought record from the long, hot summer of 1976 is now on the brink of being beaten. 

Amid the rising temperatures, supermarkets have resorted to rolling out Mediterranean-style fridges – with Waitrose buying up new equipment that can withstand outdoor temperatures of up to 48C.

The fires in London and Suffolk come after the UK Health Security Agency issued an amber heat-health alert for large swathes of the country. 

The alert remained in place until 9am on Thursday, with the agency previously warning that rising temperatures may increase health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Analysis suggests the UK is on track for the highest number of deaths caused by heatwaves since current figures began.

The UK Health Security Agency said it ‘is likely that 2026 could see the highest number of heat-associated deaths on record’, surpassing the number in 2022 when the agency started studying them.

An estimated 753 deaths were associated with the heatwave that ran from May 24-27, with a further 2,124 deaths linked to the heatwave between June 21 and 28.

The total of 2,877 deaths is almost double the 1,504 across the UK heatwaves in June to August last year.

The increased heat has led to fears and warnings that wildfires could ‘spread rapidly’ with southern and eastern parts of England’s already bone-dry landscapes particularly at risk.

Helen Wakeham, director of water at the Environment Agency and chair of the National Drought Group, said: ‘The hot and dry weather means we are currently using water faster than nature can replenish it.

‘A second consecutive summer drought is an exceptionally serious situation and one that will have long-lasting impacts on our environment, wildlife and the economy.’

The Met Office assessment showed any fires could be ‘exceptionally severe’ by Wednesday if they start in parts of London, the South East and eastern England.

Fire services in England and Wales have so far responded to 706 wildfires in 2026, with more than 200 recorded in the last two weeks, the National Fire Chiefs Council said.

Eight wildfires are currently burning and ‘being monitored’ across the UK, with fire chiefs warning that there remains an ‘elevated risk’ of more igniting.

Separately, in Scotland, crews said they were making ‘significant progress’ tackling a wildfire in the Cairngorms that broke out two weeks ago.

A number of homes in the remote region were evacuated as plumes of smoke billowed into the sky, and vast swathes of trees, heather and grasslands have been left charred and blackened.

Speaking on the track on Wednesday, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service deputy assistant chief officer Michael Humphreys told the Press Association that fire crews are making progress in tackling the blaze.

However, he warned the risk of flare-ups remains high.

‘It’s been an absolutely devastating fire for wildlife and for the local community who have come out in force to really support us, which we really do appreciate,’ he said.

‘To control this fire, what we’ve had to put in place is a significant number of fire breaks.’