Number of wildfires recorded in England in 2026 was second highest on record

England's very hot summer fuelled the second-highest number of wildfires on recent record, according to provisional government figures.

Exceptional heat in 2026 turned much of the countryside into a tinderbox, bringing fires that razed 19 homes in Stourbridge in the West Midlands, and blackened the usually heather-purple Dunwich Heath in Suffolk.

Between January and August this year, there were 1,354 wildfires, second only to the 1,592 in 2022, in records going back to 2010, the data from the housing department (MHCLG) shows.

One person in Gloucestershire died as a result of the fires, and 29 were injured, including 17 who had to be treated in hospital.

There were also 468 large wildfires - one which burned an area of more than 10,000sqm. This figure was also second only to 2022, the year temperatures soared to 40C in Britain for the first time, and at least 18 homes were destroyed in Wennington on the Essex/London border.

The hot and dry conditions of 2026 prompted Prime Minister Andy Burnham to introduce a temporary ban on disposable barbecues in August.

Wildfires in England and Wales are now spreading over larger areas, burning for longer and drawing closer to homes, according to analysis of this year's fires by Sky News' Data and Forensics team.

Most wildfires are started by people, but scientists and the government say climate change is fuelling prime conditions for fires to break out and spread rapidly by making British summers hotter and drier.

But it recently emerged the government had quietly dropped plans to prepare England's countryside for the rising risk of blazes.

The proposals were promised under Rishi Sunak's Conservative government in 2023, but never launched by the current Labour government, elected in 2024.

Environment department officials confirmed the programme was "not brought into effect" - following an Environmental Information Regulations request made by environmental campaigner and author Guy Shrubsole, and seen by Sky News.

A government spokesperson said they had made "wildfire preparedness a government priority" and was organising a wildfire summit with fire and rescue services to ensure the country is prepared.

"Land management and landscape adaptation plays an important part in this, and we work closely with land managers and experts to support the restoration of peatlands, the creation of firebreaks and other adaptations that help to prevent fires from starting or from spreading as quickly during incidents."

Guy Shrubsole told Sky News the summit would have to bring about "radical changes to how we fire-proof our landscapes - by restoring peat bogs, ponds and wetlands - and cut out the fossil fuels making wildfires worse".

Climate and nature policies are the country's "best defence against extreme weather", he added.

(c) Sky News 2026: Number of wildfires recorded in England in 2026 was second highest on record