Four years ago a wildfire destroyed 18 homes on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK, when temperatures hit 40.3°C.
On Saturday, two miles from the scene of the “apocalyptic” devastation inflicted on Wennington in 2022, dozens of residents were again forced to evacuate, some clutching pets, as a grassland blaze threatened houses in Rainham.
Around 70 firefighters battled flames from gardens after the wildfire came within 50 yards of homes in the east London suburb.
It had swept down from an adjacent country park, incinerating around 10 acres of land on Ingrebourne Hill as Britain’s searing hot summer fuel continues to fuel tinderbox conditions.
Neighbours say grass fires have become a regular menace, and fear more blazes may ignite in the coming weeks. Some are so concerned they are thinking of leaving the area. Sharon, one of 35 residents who had to evacuate their homes around Palmerston Road, said the blaze was “terrifying”.
“We could see the flames. The smoke was terrible,” the 60-year-old told The i Paper.
The blaze came within 50 yards of homes as terrified residents were forced to evacuate (Photo: Chris Morse)“We had nowhere to go, so we had to stand out there. What would we have done if the house went up? I’m wanting to move because it’s really getting me down. These fires are terrible.”
The blaze was one of at least 208 wildfires in England and Wales between 16 and 28 July, with more than half of England now in drought as the hot, dry spell continues.
Chris Morse, 65, said: “The fire brigade came but they couldn’t enter from the field. So they were going round the back. They left a fire-watcher here. And at one point, he just said the wind started to change and he said: ‘Out.’ Literally, we had like five minutes.
“We took the cats, went and got boxes, put the cats in, and we were out. Forty-eight years we have lived here and we have never had that. We drove away, and it was ‘oh, is the house going to be there when we came back’? It was scary.
“The following night when we were back, I was coming out every hour and just looking. If it happens at night, we’re not going to get as much warning.”
So far this year, fire and rescue services have responded to 706 wildfires, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) said, compared to 788 recorded by the same point in 2025.
Thick smoke billows on Ingrebourne Hill (Photo: Councillor Luke Barry)And with thousands of firefighters still battling huge infernos in France and Spain, fire chiefs say the long-term effects of climate change are increasing the likelihood of larger, more complex wildfires in the UK.
Most parts of England are currently at very high risk of wildfires becoming severe, according to a Met Office fire severity index. In Scotland, a major incident was declared as 500 firefighters tackled a blaze in the Highlands described by one resident as “cataclysmic”.
A massive wildfire on Tintwistle Moor, Derbyshire, has burned hundreds of hectares equivalent to 900 football pitches across the Peak District, while more than 100 firefighters and volunteers have been grappling with two huge moorland fires in Greater Manchester.
The ‘Rainham Volcano’
The spectre of the Wennington blaze in 2022 looms over Rainham residents, with a number of grass fires igniting on Ingrebourne Valley in the past three weeks.
The area is also impacted by smoke from underground fires at an infamous illegal landfill site at Arnolds Field on Launders Lane, dubbed the Rainham Volcano.
On Saturday, 10 fire engines and around 70 firefighters were scrambled to the fire which ignited around 5pm.
Crews, some scrambled from central London. used backpack blowers to push flames back into already burnt areas, with an off-road terrain support vehicle carrying 475 litres of water deployed.
A wildfire caused huge devastation to Wennington on the outskirts of east London in 2022 on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK (Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty)On Ingrebourne Hill, blackened grassland shows where flames scorched the bone-dry land, a smell of smoke still lingering.
Firefighters managed to prevent the flames crossing River Ingrebourne, a narrow stretch of water separating the houses from the main section of the park.
One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “We could see the flames from our back garden. It spread from the top of our road and came all the way along.
“We’re supposed to have really hot weather the next few days. You don’t really sleep that much, you’re worrying about it that much.
“You’re constantly looking out of the window. Can I see smoke?”
Lesley Pluck, 70, evacuated and took shelter for a few hours in her daughter’s boyfriend’s home.
“We just had time to gather the cat and a couple of odd bits,” she said.
“It was massive, thick black smoke, and ash was all raining down. I’m quite anxious about it, especially with the weather as it is. You don’t know if it’s gonna happen again.”
Around 10 acres of land were destroyed in the Rainham blaze (Photo; Joe Duggan)Muttaya Fayemi, 21, who was at home with her sister Zainab, 23, said: “The fire was coming from behind our house, so I saw some smoke. We didn’t think anything of it until they came and they told us to evacuate.”
Zainab said: “This isn’t the first time we have had a fire, A couple of years ago, Wennington was definitely a quite detrimental fire. I think now it’s becoming a little bit more significant, especially with the heatwaves.”
There were no reports of injuries. London Fire Brigade say the specific cause of grass fires can be extremely difficult to determine and it is not known how the blaze started.
Muttaya Fayemi, 21 (left), who was at home with her sister Zainab, 23, when the fire broke out and threatened their home (Photo: The i Paper)Luke Barry, a Reform UK councillor on Havering Council, urged people to report suspicious activity involving the fires to the police.
Margaret Mullane, the local Labour MP, called for action “at all levels” to stop “devastating fires that swept through and affected communities”.
“In ancient Rome, the ill fated Emperor Nero was condemned for literally fiddling while Rome burned,” she said. “The current Reform controlled Havering Council should be equally slammed for denying that there is a climate emergency.”
The council was contacted for comment.
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