UK to set up AI unit to tackle wildfires after record-hot summer
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce a new AI unit for spotting wildfires early, plus £45m for firefighters' protective gear. The move follows the UK's hottest summer on record, which brought devastating blazes.
The UK government will create a new artificial intelligence unit to help spot and fight wildfires faster, Prime Minister Andy Burnham is due to announce on Friday at the government's first wildfire resilience summit. The plan follows the country's hottest summer on record, when prolonged dry spells and extreme heat fuelled destructive fires.
What is planned
The unit will sit within the National Situation Centre, part of the Cobra briefing rooms, the government's crisis-response meeting system. Businesses including Google, Airbus and VodafoneThree are expected at the summit to explain how satellite monitoring and early warning systems can assist firefighting.
Burnham will also announce £45m for fire crews to buy wildfire-specific protective equipment. The Guardian previously reported that more than half of the 29 fire services that replied to its information requests had no such kit. Standard respirators do not protect against hazardous gases such as carbon monoxide, and ordinary gear can be too hot and heavy for wildfire conditions.
Military planes and helicopters will be made available to tackle fires on remote moorland, steep hillsides and other hard-to-reach terrain. Defence secretary Wes Streeting said defence would step up to give emergency services greater support and protect military training areas.
The government will also consider tougher local restrictions or product bans when fire risk is high. In August, Burnham announced a temporary ban on sales of disposable barbecues. He has been criticised for not addressing the climate emergency in his wildfire response.
Farmers and peatlands
The government will allocate £25m to restore dried-out peatlands in England so they retain more water and act as natural firebreaks, and will back farmers in fireproofing their land. The grant scheme is expected to run from April 2027 to April 2029.
The announcement comes after it emerged that the government had quietly scrapped Conservative-era plans to prepare the English countryside for wildfires. Alistair Carmichael, chair of the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee, said this raised serious questions about whether the summer's fires could have looked different with more resources on the ground.
