Firefighters in eastern England make 'progress' battling 'dynamic' wildfire

World UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the fire as a "very serious incident", with the blaze expected to take at least 48 more hours to contain. A firefighter tackling a blaze at Dunwich Heath, which began on Jul 29, in eastern England, Jul 30, 2026. (Photo: AFP/Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service) DUNWICH: Firefighters in eastern England were "making good progress" Thursday (Jul 30) battling a "dynamic" wildfire which has engulfed swathes of heathland and prompted the evacuation of dozens of residents and visitors, local officials said.Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said the blaze at Dunwich Heath, near England's east coast, had grown to cover around 150 hectares (370 acres) - the size of approximately 210 football pitches.It follows a period of exceptionally dry and hot weather, which has left Wales and more than half of England in drought and contributed to once-rare wildfires breaking out in different places.Changing wind conditions were making the blaze's spread unpredictable, said the Suffolk service, but London's fire service was sending six fire engines to join 18 fire engines and 120 firefighters already at the scene.The service, which is responsible for the sprawling rural county northeast of London, said it expected the response to continue for at least the next 48 hours. It declared a major incident late Wednesday after flames erupted hours earlier and began to threaten local properties including a holiday park for caravans, leading to evacuations. "SEA OF RED"Westleton resident Lesley Abery told AFP she had woken up in the night worried about the fires and looked out of the window."It was a sea of red. It was all red along the horizon ... it's just horrific".Adam Rowlands, Suffolk manager for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), said his team on the ground had "described scenes of utter devastation"."It's the vegetation structure that's so important for a lot of the key species that use the habitats here," he told AFP. "If all that vegetation is removed, in essence those species lose their habitat."The wildfire is less than 10 miles (16 kilometres) away from nuclear power station Sizewell B and the construction site for new power station Sizewell C.Although Sizewell B was an area of concern the fire was not currently expected to spread to the area, according to fire officials.UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he was receiving regular updates about the "very serious incident", pledging emergency responders would get any support they needed.In Scotland, firefighters have remained at the scene of a wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park which has been burning for more than two weeks and destroyed about 10 square miles (25 square kilometres) of moorland. Between Jul 16 and 28 more than 200 fires broke out in England and Wales, according to figures published Tuesday by the National Fire Chiefs Council body.