An aerial view taken with a drone shows smoke rising from wildfires near Dunwich Heath in Suffolk, Britain, on July 31. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Friday banned the sale of disposable barbeques and took other emergency measures to combat wildfires triggered by heatwaves and a lack of rain. File Photo by Tolga Akmen/EPA
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Andy Burnham imposed a temporary ban on the sale of disposable barbecues and deployed military personnel on Friday in a battle against widespread wildfires across the country.
Speaking from the hard-hit West Midlands of England, Burnham said the measures were made necessary by continuing waves of hot weather and extreme drought.
"We cannot accept this as the new normal," he said in a video address while recounting how fires the region "have destroyed homes, forced people to evacuate and left firefighters injured while protecting others."
Much of England and Wales remains in a deep drought and is facing another period of extreme heat a day after the Met Office reported temperatures reaching 100.6 degrees in London for the fifth-hottest day on record in the nation's history, the British leader noted.
