Wildfire near Sizewell nuclear plant causes ‘total devastation’ to Suffolk landscape
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- Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has deployed more than 100 firefighters to battle the Dunwich Heath blaze since Wednesday evening, supported by a helicopter dropping 1,000 litres of seawater per pass and six London fire brigade appliances; by Friday afternoon the service called it a stabilising but "major incident" that remained "dynamic and potentially changeable".
- The Dunwich Heath fire has consumed approximately 150 hectares (370 acres, equivalent to 210 football pitches) across the National Trust reserve and RSPB Minsmere nature reserve — both protected sites hosting some of the UK's rarest species including nightjars, nightingales and Dartford warblers.
- National Trust general manager Russell Clement said the reserve is now "unrecognisable" with "total devastation," and director general Hilary McGrady launched an emergency fundraising appeal for the rare lowland heath, which typically draws 100,000 visitors each year.
- RSPB Minsmere area manager Adam Rowlands said vegetation will "probably take decades" to re-establish and described seeing nightjars fleeing a 20ft fireball, warning that any surviving birds would "likely perish" because they cannot find suitable habitat to feed and breed.
- The fire broke out as half of England was officially declared in drought (East Anglia plus six other regions), with Natural Resources Wales declaring drought across the whole of Wales — England and Wales are on track for their driest July since records began nearly 200 years ago, and Suffolk received just 2% of its average monthly rainfall.
- EDF said the blaze near the Sizewell B nuclear power station and Sizewell C construction site is "not currently affecting operations" and it is "not on high alert," though Suffolk emergency planning unit's Freddie Gulliver confirmed about 50 people were evacuated from homes and the Cliff House holiday park.
- Labour MP Jon Pearce has called on UK retailers to suspend disposable barbecue sales, and chief fire officer Jon Lacey urged the public to avoid them entirely — including in their own gardens — as the cause of the fire remains undetermined; Green party leader Zack Polanski called for an emergency Cobra meeting on wildfires across Britain.
Why it matters: The fire has destroyed habitat for some of the UK's rarest bird species in a reserve visited by 100,000 people annually, with the RSPB warning full ecological re-establishment will take decades — crystallising how England's official drought (Suffolk got just 2% of its normal July rainfall) is now making UK landscapes catastrophically flammable, with disposable barbecues emerging as the immediate policy flashpoint.
