BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • England
  • Local News
  • Wiltshire

Dorset and Wiltshire fires up 429% compared to August 2021

  • Published
    12 August 2022
Share page
About sharing
Related topics
  • UK heatwaves
Smoke during a fire in PewseyImage source, JONATHAN KERR
Image caption,

A red fire severity alert has been issued for Wiltshire and Dorset over the coming days

Wildfires have increased by 429% in the first 10 days of August, compared to the same period in 2021, Dorset and Wiltshire Fire has said.

Figures show that there has been 180 fires in the open, compared to 34 fires at the same time last year.

A red alert for fires is now in place in Wiltshire, which follows the amber warning for extreme heat.

Fire services have asked people not to have fires or barbecues out in the countryside.

Group manager Stuart Gillion said: "After months of warm and dry weather, our countryside areas are tinder dry.

"This not only increases the risk of fires spreading quickly but also increases the risk of ignition."

Wiltshire fire service are urging for farmers to keep their machinery well maintained, as machinery can be prone to catching fire.

Fire at Catford HeathImage source, DWFRS
Image caption,

Farms are at great risk of catching fire during periods of extreme heat

Mr Gillon added: "Dealing with wildfires is incredibly resource-intensive, and some can take days - and even weeks - to bring under control.

"Alongside the devastating impact on the countryside, such fires are also very costly, and yet they can be prevented if people heed the warnings and take care.

"We can all play a part in keeping Dorset and Wiltshire safe from fire."

A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive.

Is your postcode area vulnerable to extreme heat?

Enter your full postcode to find out

Find out more about the data

The heat hazard score for each postcode area was calculated by 4 Earth Intelligence (a satellite analytics company), who measured the average land surface temperature over a sample of days across the past three summers in Great Britain.

Each heat hazard score represents different sized groups, as shown in the scale. This is to highlight the places where the temperature in an area was higher compared to the rest of Great Britain, once the temperature had been adjusted to make it comparable across regions.

For example, a score of one means the postcode was in the lowest 40% of potential heat hazard areas, while a score of five means it was in the top 1% of potential heat hazard areas.

If your postcode is represented by or contains a small square, this may be because your building has too many addresses in it for a single postcode. This block can be shown adjacent to areas with the same postcode, or a few streets away.

Wildfires have also broken out across across Europe this summer, with firefighters battling wildfires in France.

Presentational grey line

Follow BBC West on Facebook, external, Twitter, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk , external

Related topics

  • Wildfires
  • UK heatwaves
  • Dorset

More on this story

  • France battles 'monster' wildfire near Bordeaux

    • Published
      11 August 2022
    Firefighters tackling blaze near Hostens, Gironde, 11 Aug 22
  • 'A very dangerous few days,' says fire advisor

    • Published
      11 August 2022
    Wildfire
  • Field fire spreads over 20 acres of countryside

    • Published
      7 August 2022
    Fire on Pewsey Hill

From other local news sites

  • Long Players bring 90s rave to Malmesbury with classic albums

    • External
      Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
  • School's dream expansion plans to be funded by Dyson cash

    • External
      Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard
  • Wessex Water organise drop in session for customers

    • External
      Wiltshire Gazette and Herald
  • Wetherspoons ordered to pay worker £25,412 over staff discount meal

    • External
      Wiltshire Gazette and Herald
  • Primary school pupils help create inspiring new mural

    • External
      Wiltshire Times
  • Staff celebrate after store shortlisted for top nationwide award

    • External
      Wiltshire Times
Information about BBC links to other news sites

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Three dead in Jamaica as strongest storm of the year Hurricane Melissa approaches island

    • 16275 viewing16k viewing
  • Watch: Storm chasers fly inside the eye of Hurricane Melissa

    • Published
      5 hours ago
  • Military sites to house asylum seekers in bid to end hotel use

    • Published
      7 hours ago

More to explore

  • These robots can clean, exercise - and care for you in old age. Would you trust them to?

    A sketch of a robot with their arm around a person
  • 'Migrants in barracks' and 'NHS printed my face'

    A composite image of the front pages of The Times and Metro. The headline of the former reads "small boat migrants to be housed in barracks" and the headline of the latter reads "NHS printed me a new face".
  • 'My wife died in childbirth but wasn't told she'd been given labour drug overdose'

    Lori and Jacqui. He is in a light grey formal suit and has his arms around Jacqui who is in a wedding dress. She is smiling and holding flowers. They are pictured next to a stone harbour wall next to the North Sea.
  • Boyband Five on their reunion: We are spectacularly lucky to get a second chance

    Sean Conlon, Abz Love, Scott Robinson, Ritchie Neville and Jason Paul Brown of Five attends The BRIT Awards 2025 at Intercontinental London
  • Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden on incels, addiction and fatherhood

    Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden at the press night after party for The Fifth Step in London last May. Freeman is wearing a pinstriped black jacket and tinted glasses. Lowden is wearing a collarless beige jacket and light blue shirt.
  • How a Hollywood tour guide discovered an unknown celebrity grave

    A still from the Bride of Frankenstein movie, with Lanchester in costume, holding hands with Frankenstein, played by Boris Karloff. She is wearing a white gown, long white gloves and her black curly hair is put up in a tall beehive with a white streak running down the sides from her temple
  • Is my mobile lying to me? When 5G doesn't mean 5G

    Young woman encounters signal problems with GPS or 5G on her smartphone while looking out of an open attic window, determined to restore connectivity.
  • Who is Anwar Ibrahim, the Malaysian leader who helped Trump preside over a 'peace deal'?

    Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
  • The Upbeat newsletter: Start your week on a high with uplifting stories delivered to your inbox

    A graphic of a wave in the colours of yellow, amber and orange against a pink sky
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Prince Andrew hosted Epstein, Maxwell and Weinstein at Royal Lodge

  2. 2

    Headlights to be reviewed after drivers complain of being 'blinded' at night

  3. 3

    'Migrants in barracks' and 'NHS printed my face'

  4. 4

    Why one small town with very little immigration turned to Reform UK

  5. 5

    Skip short strolls – a longer daily walk is better for your heart, says study

  6. 6

    'My wife died in childbirth but wasn't told she'd been given labour drug overdose'

  7. 7

    Productivity downgrade may add £20bn to Budget hole

  8. 8

    Military sites to house asylum seekers in bid to end hotel use

  9. 9

    Martin Freeman and Jack Lowden on incels, addiction and fatherhood

  10. 10

    These robots can clean, exercise - and care for you in old age. Would you trust them to?

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Get spooked by a 90s horror cult classic

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    The Blair Witch Project has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    The Blair Witch Project
  • Sex Pistols: The fights, the scandals and the enduring legacy

    • Attribution
      Sounds

    Added to My Sounds
    The Rise and Fall of ... has been added to your My Sounds.
    The Rise and Fall of: Sex Pistols
  • Daisy May and Charlie Cooper's hilarious haunted sleepovers

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Daisy May and Charlie Cooper's NightWatch has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Daisy May and Charlie Cooper's Nightwatch
  • Acclaimed satirist Armando Iannucci on political hindsight

    • Attribution
      Sounds

    Added to My Sounds
    Strong Message Here has been added to your My Sounds.
    Strong Message Here
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.