// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Lives 'will be lost' unless UK does more to combat wildfires, committee chairwoman says
The aftermath of a wildfire in Dunwich Heath, Suffolk, during the summer
Lives "will be lost" unless more is done to combat the increasing risk of wildfires, the chairwoman of the UK's Climate Change Committee (CCC) has said after a record number of blazes this summer.
Baroness Brown told BBC File on 4 Investigates "not enough action" had been taken in light of predictions the UK is facing longer, drier summers because of global warming.
Earlier this year, one man died in a wildfire in Gloucestershire, while 19 homes were destroyed in Stourbridge, near Birmingham, and villagers were evacuated in the Cairngorms.
The government said it was investing nearly £100m to improve national resilience capabilities, which includes piloting specially trained firefighting teams.
As far back as 2012, the independent CCC warned of "more frequent wildfires due to warmer and drier conditions".
File on 4 Investigates has seen figures from the National Fire Chiefs Council showing that 2026 set a new all-time high, with 1,350 wildfires in England and Wales, up by more than 300 on last year and more than 1,000 on 2024.
Records for the number of reported wildfires were also broken in 2022 and 2025.
Baroness Brown said the CCC, formed in 2008, has been telling the government for years that the UK is "not prepared for the changing climate". She continued: "The warnings have been there and not enough action has been taken.
"I fear that lives will be lost. We need to be doing much more education and preparation."