Only takes a spark to start a wildfire, Yorkshire crews warn

Fire services across Yorkshire have joined forces to warn people of the dangers of disposable barbecues and campfires on moorlands, with 342 wildfires reported across England and Wales since January.

According to National Resilience data, the 2025 wildfire season was the busiest on record with 1,006 fires during the year, surpassing the previous record of 994 in 2022.

West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service (WYFRS) said it saw its highest January-to-May wildfire count in six years during 2025, with 31 incidents by the end of May.

A spokesperson said: “While the number of wildfires this year is lower than last, it only takes one spark to cause significant damage.”

Richard Hawley, group manager at WYFRS, said: “It’s very challenging.

“We’ve got some absolutely beautiful landscapes in our region – moorland and rolling countryside and we want people to enjoy our beautiful outdoors but to do it safely.”

He urged people venturing out into the countryside to take a picnic instead of a barbecue.

“All of that heat is being transferred under the ground where you can’t see and then fires start smouldering and hours later the peat releases energy and fires break out,” Hawley said.

He said the methods of fighting wildfires were always evolving and crews were now using similar techniques as seen on the continent.

“We look to our neighbours on mainland Europe for the latest expertise such as containing fires by modelling the landscape, examining topography and looking at weather predictions,” he said.