Wennington fire: Homes destroyed as huge grass blaze hits east London as temperatures hit 40C
Wennington #Wennington
Kent Fire: Huge grass fire breaks out in Wennington as temperatures hit 40C
SHARE
SHARE
TWEET
SHARE
Click to expand
France: Wildfires Continue In Southwest France Burning More Than 10,000 Hectares Wildfires in the Gironde and in Bouches-du-Rhone departments continued to rage, burning more than 10,000 hectares since Tuesday, July 12. More than 12,000 people have been evacuated.Please see Storyline for restrictions and usage terms.RESTRICTIONS AND USAGE TERMS: Please credit “@ActusNonStop via Spectee”.*******************************************************************NOTE: 2 clipsVideo Location: L’Herbe, Cap Ferret, Gironde, FranceVideo Recording Date/Time: July 16, 2022 
Evening Standard
Officers who failed to act during Uvalde shooting must be held accountable, Texas lawmaker says Republican state Rep. Dustin Burrows, who chaired the Texas House of Representatives’ inquiry into the Uvalde school shooting, says it’s up to law enforcement agencies to hold their officers accountable for inaction during the shooting. Evening Standard
War in Ukraine: The latest headlines A look at the latest headlines from the conflict in Ukraine as Britain’s armed forces chief has dismissed speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not well” or could be assassinated as “wishful thinking”. Evening StandardUP NEXT
A huge grass fire has broken out in an Essex village as temperatures hit 40C for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.
Footage shows fields and buildings in Wennington engulfed in black smoke on the hottest day ever recorded in the UK.
Fifteen fire crews and 100 firefighters are currently battling the blaze at the scene, the London Fire Brigade said.
Separate footage shows a large fire breaking out on Dartfort Heath. Kent Fire and Rescue Service said twelve fire engines and a height vehicle had been sent to the scene near Durrell Dene, in Joyce Green.
Anyone driving on the A2 and nearby roads is advised to take care, as smoke from the fire may impact visibility.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has declared a “major incident” in the capital amid a “huge surge” in fires, warning that the London Fire Brigade was under “immense pressure”.
He tweeted: “London Fire Brigade has just declared a Major Incident in response to a huge surge in fires across the capital today.
“This is critical: LondonFire is under immense pressure.
“Please be safe. I’m in touch with the Commissioner and will share updates when I have them.”
Outside of the capital, West Midlands Fire Service received 717 incident calls on Monday – an increase of 280 in the space of a week.
And Hereford & Worcester crews had 54 fires based around fields, undergrowth and woodland, which it said was a “much higher number” than normal.
The National Trust has appealed to people to avoid lighting barbecues or campfires, and not to leave glass bottles on the ground.
It comes after the 40C threshold was crossed in the capital just after 12.50pm on Tuesday.
The extreme heat is fuelled by climate change, which is making every heatwave more intense, frequent and likely, scientists warn.
The 40.2C recorded at Heathrow beats the previous record for the UK of 38.7C in Cambridge three years ago, by 1.5C, and the Met Office warned temperatures were still climbing early on Tuesday afternoon.
Charlwood, Wisley and Chertsey in Surrey, and Kew Gardens and Northolt in west London were among the places to exceed the 2019 record by early afternoon, with temperatures climbing above 39C.
Register now for one of the Evening Standard’s newsletters. From a daily news briefing to Homes & Property insights, plus lifestyle, going out, offers and more. For the best stories in your inbox, click here.