Wildfires: What can the UK and other countries learn from Australia’s world-leading fire response system?

Edinburgh Wildfires are becoming a feature of Britain’s hot, dry climate, as they are across much of Europe.

In July 2026, fires ravaged parts of the UK within days, particularly the extinct volcano Arthur’s Seat in the center of Edinburgh. Following the fires, the Scottish Greens declared the wildfires a “national emergency”.

It comes as the Welsh Government has launched a crisis plan to tackle ongoing fires in north Wales, raising concerns over a lack of helicopters to control the blazes. Other fire services across the UK said they were under extreme pressure.

Fire and rescue services in England and Wales responded to nearly 1,000 wildfire incidents in 2025, breaking the record set in 2022. Experts predict there will be more days like this to come.

According to the Ordnance Survey, more than one million Britons live in fire-prone areas. “The homes that have been identified … are located in patchwork landscapes, often without managed fire breaks, as is common in other parts of the world,” said Duncan Moss, co-chairman of a national group that advises governments on wildfires.

As of yet, there is no unified approach to wildfire management in the UK. While Scotland published a plan in March, management in England is largely driven by independent public bodies such as Forestry England, although the UK government recently announced a new wildfire firefighting force for England.

The British public mainly learns about wildfires through news reports and information from land management agencies and other public bodies. But wildfires remain a largely unrecognized risk, with gaps in understanding of the hazards and their consequences. As a result, many communities are now demanding clearer information on how to respond.

One potential solution is to send more real-time emergency alerts directly to mobile phones in affected areas. While the UK has a national emergency warning service, so far the system has only been used for floods and storms.

But we believe emergency alerts should only be part of a wider communications strategy. The UK is at a critical juncture in educating the public not only about the risks of fires, but also about the nuances of fires themselves. The bottom line is, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with fires.

Wildfires can be both destructive and beneficial. Safe, proactive risk reduction often involves lighting small, low-intensity fires to reduce vegetation that can serve as fuel and reduce the risk of future wildfires. This method is widely used in other countries.

Good fire management requires more than early warning. This requires the public to understand how to coexist safely with it.

What did Australia do and did it work?

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A long history of devastating wildfires has shaped Australia’s fire risk warning framework, and few countries have responded to the problem so thoroughly. There are two systems: one that predicts risk levels before a fire occurs, and another that communicates what actions should be taken after a fire occurs.

The Australian Fire Danger Rating System is launching in 2022 and is designed to provide a clear, nationally consistent warning system. Its purpose is to communicate to the public how dangerous a fire can be if it breaks out.

The system has four levels. Each contains a clear set of information and recommended actions for people to take before and during a fire risk: moderate, high, extreme and catastrophic.

Hazard levels are calculated and communicated by Australian state and territory fire agencies. They took into account weather, drying factors and potential fire behavior.

These warnings are communicated to the public through a variety of channels:

Roadside signage showing current fire danger levels;

Weather Forecast, which incorporates fire danger ratings into standard weather forecasts and weather applications;

National Emergency Website and App;

News coverage, including from Australia’s national emergency broadcaster ABC Emergency, provides the latest information and advice on protecting life and property.

What happens when a fire breaks out?

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Australia’s alarm system is activated when a fire occurs and alerts are sent directly to the public for each fire.

This national approach was developed in 2021 to provide consistent public information about wildfires, floods, storms, hurricanes, extreme heat or severe weather. Previously, states issued separate alerts, with inconsistent alert levels and terminology, and different warning systems for different hazards. AWS has three warning levels:

Recommendation: The incident has occurred, but there is no immediate danger. Stay informed in case the situation changes.

Observe and take action: Threat level increases. Things are changing and you need to start taking action now to protect yourself and your family.

Emergency warning: the highest level of warning. You may be in danger and need to take immediate action. If it is too late to leave, evacuate immediately. Any delay could put your life at risk.

From 1 October 2026, Australia will add another layer to its warning protocols. AusAlert will send emergency messages directly to every compatible mobile device in affected areas during local and national disasters, following findings from the Royal Commission that it will be an increasingly valuable way to respond to natural disasters.

Layering message channels in this way is well thought out, but there can still be problems. Power outages overloaded mobile networks when fires broke out in central Victoria in January 2026, and the blaze destroyed a major telecommunications tower, leaving many residents without access to official warnings, emergency apps or broadcast guidance.

During Australia’s 2019-20 fires, it is estimated that more than 60,000 people heeded advice to leave fire-prone areas. Official warnings almost certainly played a role, but so did the visibility of the crisis, with smoke blanketing the region and media coverage of mass evacuations.

However, research of people affected by the 2017 NSW bushfires shows that while most people found warnings easy to access and understand, this did not necessarily translate into the response required by emergency services. Instead, many chose to stay and defend their homes.

All early warning systems face the same basic problem: too much messaging can lead to communications fatigue, and too little messaging can cost lives. Australia has spent decades learning how to warn the public. The harder lessons of getting people to act on this advice remain a work in progress. Hong Kong Federation

Hong Kong Federation

This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.