A major incident has been declared on the Suffolk coast after a large wildfire broke out, with around 90 firefighters deployed to tackle the blaze.
The fire started at Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, shortly after 5.30pm on Wednesday and spread southwest towards the nearby St James’ Church. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service described it as a “large-scale, wind-driven forestry fire” and declared a major incident “due to the size and complexity” of the blaze.
Locals were urged to avoid the area and keep windows and doors closed as smoke billowed into the sky. The fire broke out just hours after half of England was declared to be in drought.
Water minister Emma Hardy said the UK must be “prepared for this new normal” as climate change makes droughts increasingly common. There have now been three droughts in the past five years, following 2022 and 2025.
Firefighters elsewhere were also busy: crews in Scotland made “significant progress” against a long-running Cairngorms blaze, while a large grass fire was tackled in east London.
Your News Website is following updates from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, the Environment Agency and Sky News.
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