Government announces £45m wildfire plan as PM hosts resilience summit
The government has announced a £45m plan to equip military aircraft and firefighters for wildfires as the Prime Minister hosts the first UK wildfire resilience summit.
How it was covered
- Sky News carried 56% of the airtime.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4 and GB News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
The government has announced a £45m plan to equip military planes and Chinook helicopters with aerial firefighting equipment and to give firefighters better protective kit. The Prime Minister is hosting the first UK wildfire resilience summit to set out the measures.
Ministers say the plan will create a permanent UK-based aerial firefighting capability for the Ministry of Defence for the first time. Aircraft will be fitted with tools to tackle fires from the sky, reaching areas that ground crews cannot, such as densely packed forests and steep hillsides.
The £45m investment is for state of the art, wildfire-specific equipment and PPE. Firefighters will get lighter, breathable protective clothing designed for long hours in difficult terrain, rather than the heavy kit used for building fires. Farmers will get £25m to improve the landscape and create natural firebreaks. The government says the package will build a centre of excellence and strengthen national preparedness.
The announcement follows a record summer. There were 1,350 wildfires across England and Wales, the highest number recorded, after record temperatures. Houses were destroyed in the West Midlands and disposable barbecues were temporarily banned. Lancashire Fire and Rescue, one of six specialist wildfire teams, sent crews to the valleys of South Wales, the Derbyshire Moors and the New Forest National Park.
British firefighters have also been training in Gran Canaria, where 18 men and women from Lancashire worked alongside local crews. They deliberately burned a plot of about two and a half hectares to create a control line, a technique not normally allowed in the UK. The work helps remove pine needles and vegetation that fuel fires. One firefighter said: 'We normally try and put it out, never mind start it.'
The government believes making landscapes wetter is a key defence, but firefighters warn the battle with the elements is far from over. Questions remain over how much of the plan will be in place by next summer, when wildfire risk rises again.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Military planes and Chinook helicopters are to be equipped for aerial wildfire fighting. | ||
| The summit was described as the first wildfire resilience summit, variously as England's first or the UK's first. | Reported by Sky News | |
| Only on one channel | ||
| Farmers will receive £25 million for landscape improvements including natural firebreaks. | Not reported by ITV | |
| Record temperatures led to a record 1,350 wildfires across England and Wales that summer. | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The wildfire response plan includes a £45 million investment. | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News treated the story as a resilience and defence policy announcement. It explained the new permanent Ministry of Defence aerial capability, the £45m equipment and PPE spend, and the £25m for farmers and firebreaks. It also raised whether the measures will be ready by next summer.
- “this is all about resilience.”
- “this is the first time, by the way, that the Ministry of Defence is developing aerial capability, which is permanently based here in the UK.”
- “There is a 45 million pound investment into this.”
ITV1 led with the Prime Minister's summit and the shift to using military aircraft and helicopters from now on, then built the report around firefighters training in Gran Canaria. It emphasised the record number of wildfires and recent deployments, giving the story a practical, operational feel. It gave less detail on the £45m equipment breakdown than the other channel.
- “British firefighters are already training abroad to prepare for what's being called our new reality.”
- “Record temperatures resulted in a record 1,350 wildfires across England and Wales this summer.”
- “We thought that this type of fire is where we're going to have it in maybe 2030 and they're here.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.