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The Wennington wildfire was a wildfire that took place in Wennington, east London, on 19 July 2022 during the 2022 United Kingdom heatwave. Sixteen homes were destroyed.[1][2]
The wildfire took place on the hottest day in recorded British history, and has been described as an indication of the future effects of global warming in the UK, a country in which wildfires have historically been rare and mostly seen on isolated grassland and moorland areas rather than in urban areas.
Background
[edit]
Wennington is a village in the east of London, on the edge of the built up area. The village has an east-west main road, the B1335 Wennington road. The row of houses on the south side of the road burned down in the fire. To the south is an area of grassy fields, with a railway line to the south of it. There is a fire station in the village.[3]
People in the UK generally have little experience of UK wildfires, and are more likely to have knowledge of them happening abroad.[4] Wildfires are a known risk in the UK, however they are most associated with moorland and heathland areas, rather than destroying houses, although many do occur close to built-up areas.[5][6] Larger UK wildfires especially tend to occur in more remote areas.[7]
19 July 2022 was predicted in advance to be extremely hot, with advance predictions that it would break temperature records.[8] Stephen Belcher, Chief Scientist to the Met Office, said the temperatures reached were "virtually impossible" to achieve without global warming.[9] The day followed a long period of drought which had left grass and soil very dry, making it easier for a wildfire to spread.[10]
Events
[edit]The parish church, a listed building, survived although the graveyard caught fire.[11][12]
Resident Claire Taylor said her house burned down within "two minutes".[13]
Two firefighters were hospitalised and sixteen suffered heat-related injuries.[14]
Aftermath
[edit]Andy Roe, head of the London Fire Brigade, described the events as "unprecedented": "I saw stuff this week that I had not expected to see as a London firefighter."[15] Guillermo Rein, Professor of Fire Sciences at Imperial College London, said that "the UK will start to see fires which are much larger".[4]
Following the summer 2022 wildfires, there were public calls for a ban on disposable barbecues, which Roe supported.[16] The government declined to introduce a ban, although several large retailers voluntarily removed them from stock.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Wennington fire: Villagers brought together by disaster". BBC News. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Wennington aftermath pictured from the air day after heatwave fire wrecked homes". ITV News. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Fire Station Details - Wennington fire station". Firestations.org.uk. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ a b Bennett, Rory (19 July 2022). "The UK might face wildfires like Southern Europe in years to come, expert warns". MyLondon. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Blackett, Matthew. "Wildfires are becoming more common in the UK – but the threat can be managed". The Conversation. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Toward a UK fire danger rating system: Understanding fuels, fire behaviour and impacts". UK Research and Innovation. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Perry, Matthew C.; Vanvyve, Emilie; Betts, Richard A.; Palin, Erika J. (21 February 2022). "Past and future trends in fire weather for the UK". Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 22 (2): 559–575. doi:10.5194/nhess-22-559-2022.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) - ^ "UK prepares for historic hot spell". Met Office. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Sinmaz, Emine (20 July 2022). "UK must learn to live with extreme weather, says cabinet minister". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Gregory, James (14 August 2022). "500 more wildfires this year than whole of 2021 - fire chief". BBC News. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Hockaday, James (20 July 2022). "Devastating aftermath of Wennington fire that destroyed houses but spared church". Metro. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Brown, David; Wace, Charlotte; Mitib, Ali. "Wennington fire: Church left undamaged amid smouldering ruins". The Times. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Vinter, Robyn; Banfield-Nwachi, Mabel (20 July 2022). "'This doesn't happen in Wennington': residents and fire services reel after homes lost in blazes across England". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Lee, Matt (21 July 2022). "Two firefighters rushed to hospital after Wennington fire injuries". EssexLive.
- ^ Grierson, Jamie (26 July 2022). "UK cities need to prepare for future wildfires, say fire chiefs". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ a b Horton, Helena (29 July 2022). "Disposable barbecues must be banned in England, says fire chief". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
Category:2022 in London Category:Wildfires in the United Kingdom Category:July 2022 events in the United Kingdom