One man died in a wildfire in Gloucestershire earlier this year, and Baroness Brown, chairwoman of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), says more deaths will follow unless the UK does more to combat wildfires. The warning comes as England and Wales set a new record for fires last year, with 1,350 recorded incidents, up by more than 300 on the previous year and more than 1,000 on 2024.
Baroness Brown told BBC File on 4 Investigates that the government must prepare for the coming fire season. “Lives will be lost,” she said, “unless we do more to prepare for these fires.”
The CCC has warned since 2012 of “more frequent wildfires due to warmer and drier conditions.” Last year’s total of 1,350 incidents in England and Wales broke the previous record. Records were also broken in 2022 and 2025.
The Gloucestershire Death
The death in Gloucestershire was part of a year of serious damage. Villagers were evacuated in the Cairngorms, and 19 homes were destroyed in Stourbridge, near Birmingham.
Those figures show the human cost of a problem that has grown steadily worse.
A Record Year for Wildfires
Last year’s 1,350 incidents in England and Wales set a new all-time high for wildfires. That total was up by more than 300 on the previous year and more than 1,000 on 2024.
The pattern is consistent. The CCC warned in 2012 that warmer and drier conditions would bring more frequent wildfires. Since then, records have fallen in 2022, 2025 and now 2026.
“Lives will be lost,” Baroness Brown said, “unless we do more to prepare for these fires.”
The Government’s Response
The government is investing nearly £100m to improve national resilience capabilities, including piloting specially trained firefighting teams. Steve Wright of the Fire Brigades Union said more than a fifth of firefighter and control room posts – some 12,000 jobs – had been cut since 2010.
Phil Garrigan of the National Fire Chiefs Council welcomed the £97m investment but said more money is needed for aerial firefighting and specialist equipment. The government said the money was funding the biggest upgrade to national resilience for 20 years.
What the CCC Says Is Coming
By 2050, Baroness Brown said the risk of wildfires could be doubled across much of the UK. She told File on 4 Investigates: “The warnings have been there and not enough action has been taken.”
The CCC’s timeline is clear: the risk could be doubled by mid-century, and the coming season will test whether preparations have kept pace.
The Warning From Baroness Brown
Baroness Brown’s warning is blunt. She says lives will be lost unless more is done, and she points to the scale of the threat. The CCC has been raising this alarm since 2012, and the record-breaking numbers of recent years show the warning was not empty.
The Numbers Behind the Warning
| Year | Wildfires Recorded | Compared to Previous Year |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Not stated | — |
| 2025 | New record | — |
| 2026 | 1,350 | +300 on 2025, +1,000 on 2024 |
The comparison shows how quickly the numbers have climbed. Last year’s total was up by more than 300 on the previous year and more than 1,000 on 2024.
The Human Cost So Far
The death in Gloucestershire was part of a year of serious damage. Villagers were evacuated in the Cairngorms, and 19 homes were destroyed in Stourbridge, near Birmingham.
Those figures show the human cost of a problem that has grown steadily worse.
What Needs to Happen Now
Baroness Brown’s message is urgent. She says the government must prepare for the coming fire season.
The CCC’s timeline is clear: the risk could be doubled by mid-century, and the coming season will test whether preparations have kept pace.
The record-breaking totals of recent years show the warning was not empty. The pattern is consistent: the CCC warned in 2012, records fell in 2022 and 2025, and last year’s total of 1,350 incidents set a new high.
The road ahead is clear. The CCC has warned for more than a decade. The records keep falling. The risk is doubling. The question is whether the country will act before the next death becomes the second.
Source material: “Lives 'will be lost' unless UK does more to combat wildfires, committee chairwoman says,” the BBC.
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