UK wildfires: Stourbridge residents describe "horrendous" blazes as homes destroyed in record heat

People in Stourbridge described the wildfires that destroyed more than a dozen homes as "horrendous" and "distressing." The blazes, which surpassed the height of residential houses, spread across the West Midlands as temperatures reached a record 38.1C in the UK during the country's fifth consecutive heatwave.

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I looked out the windows and all I could see was thick black smoke. My husband came home in a bit of a flap and said: ‘We’ve got to get out. We’ve got to get out immediately.’

West Midlands ambulance service reported that 54 people were treated for injuries, with 19 taken to the hospital. The fire service confirmed 19 homes in Stourbridge were fully destroyed and an additional 18 were damaged. Andy Burnham, visiting Stourbridge, called the UK a "tinderbox" and announced the commissioning of firefighting planes to combat future wildfires, stating he had "never seen scenes like this anywhere in Britain."

Residents who were forced to evacuate their homes described the scene as "devastation" and "terrifying." Gemma Hobbs, 46, and her partner Andy, 61, were evacuated from their Osmaston Road home as the wildfire spread rapidly. "I looked out the windows and all I could see was thick black smoke," Gemma said. "My husband came home in a bit of a flap and said: ‘We’ve got to get out. We’ve got to get out immediately.’" Andy added, "It’s just the fact you don’t expect something to be as exponential as this so quickly. From the span of the area, it’s over 40 acres, that’s what we’ve been told."

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It’s just the fact you don’t expect something to be as exponential as this so quickly. From the span of the area, it’s over 40 acres, that’s what we’ve been told.

Gareth Jones, 59, who provided shelter to his neighbor John Bairner, called the wildfire "terrifying." "It was probably one of the scariest days of my life yesterday," he said. "It was just the speed at which it spread, it was devastating. Absolutely frightening how quickly it spread. Within an hour. It’s a major event." Bairner added, "All of the fields have gone, they’re all black. There’s a lot of residents up there, with buckets, hoses, just dampening down because it’s still smouldering away up there."

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It was probably one of the scariest days of my life yesterday. It was just the speed at which it spread, it was devastating. Absolutely frightening how quickly it spread. Within an hour. It’s a major event.

The Old Swinford hospital, a boarding school, was set up as a makeshift evacuation center. Headteacher Paul Kilbride described the fires as a "devastating experience," noting that over 20 people were evacuated from a nearby care home. Volunteers and helpers delivered donations and supplies to the school on Friday.

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All of the fields have gone, they’re all black. There’s a lot of residents up there, with buckets, hoses, just dampening down because it’s still smouldering away up there.