We cannot put people through another summer like this one.” PM will also announce funding for specialised protective gear and the deployment of military aircraft The UK government is to create an AI Cobra unit to spot wildfires after this year’s record-summer saw devastating blazes across the country.
Local officials noted that grant funding will help reverse environmental destruction, though they emphasize it must be followed by a new round of landscape recovery funding and duties on landowners to repair the damage done.
The prime minister will also announce that military planes and helicopters will be made available to fight wildfires on remote moorland, steep hillsides and other hard-to-reach terrain. Farmers will be given funding to make landscapes more resilient to fires.
The government also said it would allocate £25m to restore dried-out peatlands in England so they hold more water and act as natural firebreaks, as well as provide financial support for farmers to fireproof their land.
The defence secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “As the threat of wildfires in the UK grows, defence will step up to provide greater support to our emergency services and protect military training areas across the country.” The government will also look at tougher local restrictions or product bans to stop people starting fires when the risk is high.
This announcement comes after the government quietly scrapped plans announced under the Conservative government to prepare the countryside in England for wildfires.
It comes revealed that more than half of the 29 fire services that responded to requests for information had no wildfire PPE.