20260816 - Wildfires in the UK

While I consider it to be a really good idea to ban the use of disposable BBQ's in a heat emergency situation, I think we as a country have an opportunity to put comprehensive fire safety rules in place that would limit the risk of wildfires in a warming climate.

When a heat emergency is announced, it should include not just the risk to life from heat, but also the risk to life from fire.

In Arizona, an extreme desert heat environment, for instance, in the summer they have stages of fire risk that are issued, each with their own restrictions. Individual cities vary in their laws, but they all have countermeasures to prevent fires that are based on simple measures, such as banning:

ANY charcoal or wood-burning outdoor cooking. (NOTE: you can still use gas BBQs).

Campfires

Fireworks

Burning stuff!

Even Firepits are subject to controls based on location, size and wind speed.

In some instances, they will also ban smoking outside and smoking outside an enclosed vehicle (as in smoke in your car).

At an even higher level, it covers employment tasks, such as welding and the use of chainsaws.

It should be pretty easy to look at published legislation in Arizona and adopt a subset of those rules that would work for the UK, which could be triggered by an issued heat health/fire risk alert.

John B.