Royal Parks workers water young trees in Greenwich Park, London, on Wednesday, as more than half of England faces drought conditions. RICHARD BAKER/GETTY IMAGES
The east of England has become the latest part of Europe to suffer from wildfires caused by extreme heat, as holiday homes and a caravan park were evacuated in coastal regions of the county of Suffolk.
Although not on a comparable scale to the devastating blazes that have caused major incidents in southwestern France or near the Spanish capital, Madrid, the fires in an area called Dunwich Heath, close to the Sizewell B nuclear reactor, are serious enough for local authorities to have declared a major incident.
The plant, which began operations in 1995, is Britain's largest nuclear power station, generating around 3 percent of the country's electricity. It has safety measures in place to protect against wildfires and is not currently considered at risk.
Local fire station manager Dan Davis called the blaze a "large-scale, wind-driven forestry fire", and Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service has urged people to steer clear of beaches in the region "due to the ongoing nature and seriousness of the fire".
