Four wildfires break out over 24 hours in London

London Fire Brigade (LFB) has fought more wildfires so far this summer than in the whole of 2024, a senior firefighter has said.

Borough commander Blake Betts spoke to the BBC after three large areas of grassland were destroyed in separate fires that burned throughout Monday evening in east London.

Some residents in part of Dagenham were asked to temporarily leave their homes as flames ripped through eight hectares (20 acres) of Beam Valley Country Park, while areas of grassland burned near Wingletye Lane, Hornchurch and at Walthamstow Marshes.

A fourth grass fire covering just over two hectares (six acres) was brought under control by crews in Upminster on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Betts said crews were experiencing a "busy summer", but were well prepared with new equipment and training.

About 125 firefighters tackled the Dagenham fire, the largest of the three blazes.

Firefighters used jets and wildfire beaters to beat the flames and new specialist wildfire vehicles were deployed.

"Crews worked in very challenging conditions to bring the fire under control," Mr Betts said.

LFB said that while three such fires in one evening had been "a lot" for firefighters, it was not unheard of and that crews were preparing for more blazes like these.

"We are experiencing a very busy summer; we certainly haven't had one like this in a few years, but we are much better prepared for these fires than we were in the past.

"We had new wildfire vehicles at this fire yesterday, all of our staff have been trained to deal with these fires and we have a really robust response to these type of fire."

Having burned through trees and shrubland, the flames came close to neighbouring houses, scorching garden furniture, sheds and fences.

However, fire breaks cut into the grass by the local council helped prevent the blaze from spreading further, Mr Betts said.

These are areas where grass has been cut very short within areas of longer grass which had been installed in preparedness for a fire such as this.

"In this instance they've worked really effectively to stop the spread or control the spread to one particular area," he said.

Cynthia Dawkins-Lloyd, whose house backs on to the country park, said she was first made aware of the fire because she smelled it.

"I had just come back from my holiday and I was lying down in my nightgown and smelled smoke."

She said although her "fantastic neighbours" tried to tackle the flames with hoses, her garden fence had burned, as the fire was so close.

Ms Dawkins-Lloyd added that there had been a fire on the site every summer in recent years and believed she needed to protect her home.

"I think I'm going to build a concrete wall. That would stop it," she said.

All three fires are now under investigation, although Mr Betts said fires like these were typically caused by sparks from disposable barbecues or cigarettes.

"We want people to be out in open spaces enjoying the weather but we want them to be doing so carefully and cautiously," he said.

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