The 'right to roam' some moorlands across West Yorkshire have been temporarily suspended over fire fears
Bradford council said there's still a very high risk of wildfires
Last updated 20th Jul 2022
Bradford Council tweeted urging people to be wary that despite the temperature dropping, there's still wildfire risks.
It's after fires broke out across England after record breaking temperatures, including in parts of Yorkshire.
A clean up operation is underway across South Yorkshire today after emergency crews were called to multiple fires over night, in homes and fields. Homes have been devastated in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham after huge blazes in the blistering hot weather.
Dave Walton, Deputy Chief Fire Officer (DCFO) for West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, is warning the situation seen across the UK yesterday will not be a one off and we need to get prepared now
He said: “Yesterday was a game changer and took us to a completely new level. Fires were spreading much more quickly than ever before.
“Usually when a big fire happens you can call on neighbouring fire services to help, but not yesterday. Everyone was busy and completely stacked out. This tells us we need a fundamental rethink how we resource our Fire and Rescue Service nationally, so we can be prepared for this.
“The predictions are we will get heatwaves like this much more regularly, even as much as every three years, due to climate change. This is very different position we are in now compared to a one-off event nearly 50 years ago, and we need to see this as a wake-up call.
“We need to learn how we get prepared as a country for this and how we rethink the resource we have, or need going forward, so we are ready for these so homes, property and ultimately people’s lives are saved.”
Several fire services across the country, including London and some in Yorkshire, were forced to call a major incident due to issues they were experiencing.
While this did not happen in West Yorkshire, DCFO Walton revealed it was close.