Record heat: Spectacular fire in a village east of London

About 100 firefighters were called to battle a blaze in a village east of London on Tuesday amid record-breaking heat in England, firefighters said.

According to images taken from a Sky News helicopter, the fire in the village of Wennington, about thirty kilometers from the center of the British capital, spread across fields and destroyed several buildings and houses. Firefighters said in a statement at the end of the day that the fire had spread to 40 hectares, including houses, farm buildings and garages. Fourteen people had to be evacuated due to the disaster, the origin of which has not been determined at this stage.

“I was sunning myself in my garden and a black cloud came,” Chiara Meadows, a 30-year-old housewife, told AFP. “Within an hour” the fire “spread to our house” and “our cars were gone”, she continued. Emergency services “broke down our door for the animals to get out happily because I couldn’t come back because we were evacuated,” he explained, adding that he is now waiting for news from his home.

“It’s crazy, it’s crazy the way it started,” said Dennis Crafter, a 54-year-old unemployed resident who was shocked by the scale of the devastation. Around 100 firefighters and 15 appliances were deployed, London Fire Brigade said on Twitter.

Firefighters in London have launched an emergency procedure that will allow more resources to be deployed in terms of rescue services as they deal with “several large fires across the capital during today’s record heatwave”. A dozen fires have been recorded around the capital, affecting specific grassy areas in London’s suburbs.

Under the effects of a heat wave hitting Europe, the village of Coningsby in the north-east of England recorded 40.3 degrees Celsius, the first time the United Kingdom has exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, according to the Met Office. Agency Meteorological Office.