UK to station specialist wildfire teams in five regions with £97 million equipment upgrade

The UK government announced a £97 million investment to expand national capacity against wildfires. Specialist firefighter teams will be stationed in Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Northumberland, London and South Wales, with the units scheduled to become operational by the end of June.

The teams completed training in tactical burning and took part in learning exchanges in South Africa and Poland.

The funding also covers the largest upgrade to National Resilience fire vehicles and equipment in two decades. The National Resilience programme was established after the 9/11 attacks and supplies specialised resources for major incidents. Last year its capabilities were deployed more than 1,000 times, and wildfires were identified as a growing demand on the service, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

The investment forms part of the New Dimensions 2 programme, which replaces and upgrades national capabilities. A separate £3 million package announced earlier this month will restore thousands of acres of moorland. One of England’s largest wildfires last year burned 10 square miles of the North York Moors National Park for more than six weeks in August and September 2025.

Fire services in England tackled nearly 27,000 grassland, woodland and crop fires during spring and summer last year, with some services recording their highest spring totals since comparable data began. The increase was largely linked to prolonged dry weather that prompted drought declarations in several regions.