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Wildfires

by Owen Donovan

September 16, 2026

in Environment & Rural Affairs, Issues

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Image Source: Sky News via Youtube

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Wildfires

Is this devolved to Wales?

Where is this happening?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

What's happening?

Why is this happening?

Who has been affected?

Number of deliberate grassland, woodland and crop fires by year (source, custom table)

Number of deliberate grassland, woodland and crop fires by year and fire authority area (source, custom table)

£ 00 million Total

Cheese
Explanation
Etc

Who has raised this at the Senedd?

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Elin Jones MS

Finance Minister

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS

Senedd Commissioner

Niamh Salkeld MS

Backbencher

Rebeca Phillips MS

Backbencher

Matthew Jones MS

Backbencher

Steve Bayliss MS

Backbencher

Claire Johnson-Wood MS

Backbencher

Laura Anne Jones MS

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister

James Evans MS

Chair: Environment & Rural Affairs

Steven Senior MS

Shadow Education Minister

Jayne Bryant MS

Chair: Health & Social Care

Vikki Howells MS

Senedd Commissioner

Lynne Neagle MS

Labour Whip

Darren Millar MS

Conservative Group Leader

Peter Fox MS

Backbencher

Jane Dodds MS

Backbencher

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

Elin Jones MS

Finance Minister

Llŷr Gruffydd MS

Rural Resilience & Sustainability Minister

Sian Gwenllian MS

Local Government & Housing Minister

Peredur Owen Griffiths MS

Senedd Commissioner

Matthew Jones MS

Backbencher

Niamh Salkeld MS

Backbencher

Rebeca Phillips MS

Backbencher

James Evans MS

Chair: Environment & Rural Affairs

Laura Anne Jones MS

Shadow Rural Affairs Minister

Claire Johnson-Wood MS

Backbencher

Steve Bayliss MS

Backbencher

Steven Senior MS

Shadow Education Minister

Jayne Bryant MS

Chair: Health & Social Care

Vikki Howells MS

Senedd Commissioner

Lynne Neagle MS

Labour Whip

Darren Millar MS

Conservative Group Leader

Peter Fox MS

Backbencher

Jane Dodds MS

Backbencher

What are the party positions on this?

Plaid Cymru’s backbenchers expressed support for reviewing the risks that make wildfires more likely, using local knowledge and experience where possible.

I recently met with the Fire Brigades Union and thank firefighters for their extraordinary work keeping our communities safe, but it's clear that the risk has changed, and therefore our response must change with it. In reviewing and adapting the future plan, I know of members of the Welsh diaspora with direct experience of wildfire preparedness who would be willing to share that experience with the Welsh Government.

At the height of the fire, the experience and the knowledge of….Blorenge graziers was essential. They put themselves at great personal risk in helping firefighters navigate the land and tackle the blaze. Their experiences will be vital in learning lessons from these fires, but questions remain as to where their flocks will now graze and the support that they will receive for the recovery.

Having recently met with a farmer in the Llangynidr area of my constituency seriously impacted by the recent wildfires, he spoke about the fact that Welsh Water infrastructure was unmaintained and hindered efforts to tackle the fires. Can we have assurances that the Welsh Government will put pressure on agencies like Welsh Water to ensure the inspection, clearance and ongoing maintenance of their infrastructure, especially across rural parts of the country that have been impacted so much by the wildfires?

Reform UK blamed changes to land use policy in upland areas, which they tie to climate change and net-zero measures, for making wildfires worse. They also requested more details on long-term planning for fire & rescue services.

So, my question is, really: looking as to when these events occur in the future, and we do need to build into our land management more resilience—things like firebreaks and ponds, and so on—is the Minister prepared to talk about the financial impacts of the sustainable farming scheme, in particular, in terms of working into that scheme how we can build more resilience into our system so that we can prevent the extent of these fires in future?

It is abundantly clear that the climate-change-obsessed, extreme environmental lobby has dominated policy in Wales for three decades, resulting in the devastation that we've seen over the summer. Livestock have been killed, habitats destroyed and carbon-capturing peatlands lost for decades. We need firebreaks. We need fire ponds….They are the most effective way of tackling fires in our uplands. We need more livestock on our uplands, not less. They are the natural firebreak makers.

At one point, South Wales crews faced 14 wildfires simultaneously. Afan Ogwr Rhondda needs well-trained crews, the right equipment and reliable water supplies, even in drought. On 23 July, your Cabinet Minister announced a review of firefighting capability and costs. Will you publish a costed plan by 31 October, agreed with all three fire services, identifying what must improve, who is responsible, and what will be delivered before next spring?

I was not alone in being frightened by the intensity and proximity of wildfires during the summer in my constituency of Gwynedd Maldwyn, including one which was a very short distance from my own home. Again, I saw the flames. The fear was felt by many of my fellow citizens all over Wales, from Corwen in the north, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthen, down to category 3 blazes in Blaenavon, Ferndale, Ebbw Vale, just to name a few. Our thoughts are really with them at this time.

Labour have criticised some aspects of the Welsh Government’s response to the 2026 wildfires, and want more details on financial support to affected upland communities.

Labour requested that this Senedd should have been recalled for Members to raise questions and for the public to have the opportunity to hear from the Government….I do not believe the Plaid Cymru Government acted quickly and decisively. The lack of information and updates from Government Ministers made it feel like this Government did not grasp the severity of the crisis. The extent of the damage to communities, the economy, the environment and wildlife must not be forgotten because the fires are no longer burning.

I welcome the fact that there's going to be a summit, but you've indicated in your statement that there's already been an initial debrief with some suggestions. I think it would have been helpful to have had some detail on that in the statement today. What I haven't heard from you so far today is any commitment to provide funding to those areas worst affected. It is undoubtedly the case that Blaenavon will need a very significant sum of money to restore the common, but also to prevent the reoccurrence of such a fire in the future. Is it your intention for the summit to look at funding issues?

Both WWF Cymru and the Fire Brigades Union have come forward with funding proposals to ensure Wales is more resilient and better prepared for extreme weather impacts, and a key element of this proposal is seeking commitment to an extreme weather resilience fund that could look to inject tens of millions of new money into the expansion of preventative spend on nature-based solutions.

The Conservatives appreciate the seriousness in which the Welsh Government is taking the situation, but believe they could’ve requested UK military assistance sooner, seeking clarification on the rules.

You've suggested that someone has a test in place….You said it's where the civilian efforts can't go any further and there's a need to call in extra support. But I would just like to know a little bit more about that test, who deems whether it's been met or not, so that we can better understand and scrutinise the decision-making process. Clearly, it does seem that you acted pretty rapidly once you were told that that test had been met. But I personally would have liked to have seen the military's intervention much sooner, and I think we would have perhaps been able to get things under control much sooner.

The affected commoners in my constituency have already incurred almost £50,000 in direct costs and loss of earnings, with a further £20,000 needed for replacement fodder, and estimates for restoration work reaching around £89,000. In total, costs now exceed well over £100,000, with some family farms questioning their long-term liability.

Green MSs haven’t said anything on this yet.

Test Test Test

Jane Dodds supports the principle of the summit announced by the First Minister, and believes that wildfire risks need to be reviewed in light of climate change.

Machinery was pushed to its limits. One landowner has told me that he spent £4,500 on diesel tackling three wildfires in the space of that time. So, I really would like to know from you who will be brought together. It would be really good for some clarification, and Laura Anne has asked for that. Will that include moorland managers and farmers and people with the National Trust, for example, who are land managers as well?

Who is responsible?

Rhun ap Iorwerth MS

First Minister

What have ministers said?

Aerial support was used when it was available and operationally appropriate. However, suitable aircraft across the UK were limited at that point, particularly as wildfires affected many parts of the UK at once. The armed forces do not have aerial firefighting capacity in the UK, and commercial capacity was wholly insufficient to meet the level of UK demand.

Together we must strengthen the resilience of our land, our infrastructure and our public services. Prevention must be at the heart of our approach. It's important that we recognise the role we all need to play. The reality is that human activity is the main cause of wildfires. Climate change has increased the fuel, but the spark comes from us. This ranges from deliberate criminal acts through to accidental ignition, as simple as a piece of glass magnifying the rays of the sun or a disposable barbecue setting a hillside alight.

I have had discussions, and they continue, with the rural resilience Minister about the financial implications of both the direct fires and also such a difficult summer in terms of harvest and growing that the drought led to here in Wales. So, we'll continue those discussions. I'll discuss that particular letter with him as well.

There's a huge responsibility across Government on all of us to lean more heavily on nature-based solutions, because we can mix concrete to our heart's content, but, unless we work with the grain of nature, we will always ultimately lose that battle. So, we do have to recalibrate our approach, and we absolutely are committed to those nature-based solutions.... I have some particular thoughts around how the sustainable farming scheme and land management can actually support that as well, particularly given the way that farmers stepped up to help fight some of the wildfires that we saw over the summer.

You're entirely right that the preventative work that happens through the fire and rescue services is crucially important.....The Welsh Government doesn't fund the fire and rescue service, of course. Just to remind you, on 22 October, the Welsh Government will hold a summit on wildfires. The First Minister will chair that event, and I and other Ministers who were involved with the whole issue of wildfires over the summer will be part of that summit. Certainly, there are important themes to discuss in light of the fires that did happen over the summer.

What's being done about this?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What do the Welsh Government want to do?

Does this need a new law or regulations?

How long will this take?

What have the Senedd's Committees said?

Nothing has been discussed yet.

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Relevant Votes

Nothing to see yet.

Further Reading

Senedd Research Service (10th September 2026). “Wildfires in summer 2026: In Brief“
UK Parliament (15th April 2024). “Research Briefing: Wildfire risks to UK landscapes“
Forest Research (May 2011). “Wildfires in Wales“
ITV Wales News (10th August 2026). “Fire and rescue crews near ‘breaking point’ as wildfires response sees ’15-hour shifts‘”

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