Deliberate Fires Surge Across North Yorkshire After Exceptionally Dry Summer

Deliberate secondary fires involving grass and rubbish have surged across North Yorkshire this year, driven by increasingly hot and dry summer weather.

Emergency crews in North Yorkshire tackled 792 deliberate fires in the year leading up to March 2026, marking a significant increase from 622 incidents the previous year and 501 incidents in 2023/24.

These intentional blazes accounted for 40 per cent of the 2,006 total fires attended by the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service over the last year.

Secondary fires, which typically involve outdoor materials like heathland or refuse and do not involve casualties or rescues, made up 85 per cent of these deliberate incidents with 671 recorded cases.

Primary fires, which involve buildings, vehicles, or casualties, accounted for the remaining 119 incidents.

Hotter and drier summer conditions are driving this upward trend in outdoor fires.

Mean summer temperatures rose by 2.1 degrees Celsius between 2024 and 2026, reaching 16.5 degrees Celsius.

Total summer rainfall fell by 19 per cent over the same period, while rainfall specifically in July plummeted by 65 per cent.

Tom Hirst, Area Manager and Director of Capabilities, Community Risk and Resilience at North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:

"Historically, we took the summer of 2022-23, where we saw the exceptional figures. I think previously people used to describe them as one-in-50-year events and then it became one-in-tens. And, unfortunately, what we're experiencing now is we had that summer and then we've had two very dry summers beyond that, last year's and this year's again.

So we're having to make sure that we deal and adapt with that and make sure we've got the right training, equipment and resource to be able to to manage what is becoming what appears to be a regular trend."

Incidents of deliberate secondary fires spiked dramatically during the warmest months.

Crews recorded 140 deliberate secondary fires in July 2026, alongside 154 incidents in August.

Mr Hirst said:

"In comparison to 2024 to 2026, an increase of 2.1 degrees in mean temperature over the summer months from April to August.

In July and August, we had 65% less rain in July of 2026 in comparison to July of 2024.

And if you look at July 2024, the 41 incidents in comparison to the 140 that we had, it would easy to purely blame it on weather alone, we'll never do that, but they are intrinsically linked with weather. So the dryer, the hotter weather, you naturally see that."

Geographic hotspots across the county are routinely analysed by the fire service to identify repeat incidents.

Mapping data highlights coastal and rural locations including Scarborough, Whitby, Bridlington, and Pickering as areas monitored for seasonal trends and operational demand.

Weekends and evenings remain the most dangerous times for deliberate fire-setting.

Saturdays saw the highest number of callouts with 124 incidents, followed by Sundays with 110.

Peak incident times consistently occur between 5pm and 9pm.

Multi-agency teams are stepping up patrols and educational workshops to combat the rise in youth-related anti-social behaviour.

Under 'Operation Firesafe', fire crews and North Yorkshire Police neighbourhood teams are conducting joint 'blue route' patrols in hotspot areas during evenings and weekends.

Early interventions, including one-to-one sessions, family support, and school workshops on the consequences of arson, are being used to address the root causes of fire-setting.

Intelligence is also being gathered through FireStoppers, an anonymous reporting service, to help understand local factors contributing to community safety risks.

Since May 2026, targeted social media campaigns warning about the dangers of deliberate fires and wildfires have reached nearly 700,000 people across platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Community safety officials confirmed that combining education, visibility, and early intervention has successfully reduced preventable incidents requiring emergency attendance, leaving residents feeling safer and more reassured.