British firefighters train in Gran Canaria on controlled burning

British firefighters have been training in Gran Canaria in controlled burning techniques as the risk of severe wildfires grows at home and across Europe.

A team of 18 men and women from Lancashire Fire and Rescue worked alongside local firefighters about 5,000 feet above sea level on the island, which is used to intense heat. They deliberately burned a plot spanning two and a half hectares. The technique is used to create a control line and remove the pine needles and vegetation that fuel fires. It is something the crews would not be allowed to do in the UK. The training also helps prevent wildfires on Gran Canaria by burning away fuel before a fire reaches it.

The method is seen as vital where water is scarce. Crews said a fire engine cannot reach many moorland areas, so removing fuel can stop a fire in its tracks. One firefighter said the work was completely different from normal practice at home, where crews try to put fires out rather than start them. Lancashire crews have used the same principle in Hampshire after a van caught fire, adapting it to heathland and heather. The approach is a long way from the fire beaters used on Winter Hill in 2018, when manpower was the main tool.

The training follows a summer in which record temperatures resulted in a record 1,350 wildfires across England and Wales. Lancashire Fire and Rescue is one of six specialist wildfire teams. Its crews were sent to the valleys of South Wales, the Derbyshire Moors and the New Forest National Park, where fires burned longer and more intensely than before. Houses were destroyed in the West Midlands, and disposable barbecues were temporarily banned after it emerged that humans are often the main cause.

There are calls for the approach to be spread more widely. Unions are calling for 5,000 extra firefighters, specialist PPE and nationally recognised wildfire training for all officers. They say the £97 million of government money currently on offer to boost wildfire defences is not enough. Firefighters said brigades cannot rely on specialist teams travelling long distances, such as from Rossendale in Lancashire to Devon, to put out wildfires.

Spanish instructor Juan Carmanio, who has trained firefighters for 20 years, said this summer he had to evacuate his own family as flames took hold of Madrid. Three fires burned on the same day and joined together, forcing at least 40,000 people from their towns. He said things are changing faster than expected. A type of fire once thought likely around 2030 is already here, and Spain has had its worst fire seasons in the last two years despite having its best firefighters and resources. Asked whether there is a point where firefighters cannot tackle the fires, he said: 'No, we are at that point.'

The scorched soil of a blackened pine forest may look bleak, but controlled burning is seen as Gran Canaria's best chance of preventing wildfires from spreading. The UK government believes making landscapes wetter is the best means of defence. Firefighters say the battle with the elements is far from over and that Britain needs to be ready.