Wildfires Hit Record Levels as Teenagers Arrested Over Blaze
Wildfires reached record levels across the country, with 37 blazes burning and the army deployed to help exhausted fire crews. Residents were evacuated near Llandovery in south Wales, and four 14-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of arson over one major fire. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has called Britain a “tinderbox” and imposed a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues.
The sheer number of simultaneous fires, on parched ground after weeks of drought, has stretched the fire service to the point that soldiers have been called in, and the evacuations show how quickly flames can threaten homes. The arrest of four teenagers over one blaze underlines how many fires are started by people, whether through recklessness or worse, and hardens the case for the barbecue ban that fire chiefs long demanded. Mr Burnham, who has declared a national emergency in all but name, is under pressure to show the response matches the scale of a record fire season, even as critics ask whether preparation fell short. The heat that fuelled the fires is forecast to ease, but the drought will not lift quickly. Watch how far the fires spread and when meaningful rain arrives.