Warning – Fire risk currently “very high” in Surrey

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service is urging residents to be ‘Wildfire Aware’ after crews have responded to open fires across the county this week.  Firefighters attended open fires, largely caused by BBQs and campfires, in areas including Redhill Common, Frensham Common and woodland in Merstham.  

With a dryer than average March, and as the warmer weather continues into April, there is a heightened risk of wildfire across Surrey, an area which is currently coded Amber which means wildfire risk is ‘very high’.  

Fire Investigation Officer, Matt Oakley said: “Wildfires are easy to start, and spread very quickly, often through BBQs not being extinguished properly, litter left on commons or heaths, or bonfires burning garden waste, which then leads to embers igniting vegetation.“

We are not immune in Buckland – builders recently decided to light a bonfire in a garden in Old Road, and, whilst it is understood that (thankfully) no-one was injured, property damage was incurred not only in the garden where the bonfire was located but also in more than one neighbouring property.

Please think carefully about the risks before you allow a bonfire to be lit in your garden and consider the alternatives which include:.

• signing up to to the MVDC Garden Waste scheme; and
• taking your garden waste to one of the local Community Recycling Centres.

If you do have building work underway at your property please take a few moments to check the guidance provided by the Environmental Health team at MVDC and bear in mind, when reading the guidance, that for the duration of any building works at your property, any bonfire lit can be classified as a “bonfire on a commercial site”.

Update published Friday 11th April 2025.