Gurkhas Join Wildfire Fight as Families Return to Ruined Homes
Gurkhas were deployed to help tackle around 20 wildfires still burning across Wales, as the New Forest blaze entered its eighth day and soldiers were praised for their work supporting exhausted fire crews. In Stourbridge, evacuated residents returned to see their destroyed homes for the first time. The fires are being contained by crews rather than weather, with the forecast rain yet to arrive.
The deployment of Gurkhas alongside regular troops underlines how thinly stretched the fire service remains after a record season, with a major incident still running in Wales and a week-old blaze consuming heathland in the New Forest. For the families walking back into scorched streets in Stourbridge, the crisis has moved from emergency to loss, and the question of rebuilding — and who pays — begins. The absence of the promised rain means containment still depends on human effort, and events from airshows to fetes are being trimmed of anything that might spark. A summer that began with drought warnings has become a test of national resilience. Watch when the rain finally arrives and whether the fires are fully brought under control.