The Hottest Day Ever and London's Burning ... Literally

London Fire Brigade have issued Major incident following a spate of fires which have destroyed a number of houses , fires continue to burn around the city.

In a village on the outskirts of east London, several houses were destroyed and others were severely damaged after fires broke out, engulfing properties.

LFB has sent 15 fire engines and about 100 firefighters to Wennington to deal with blazes which covered a number of buildings and adjoining grassland.

• Thirty fire engines were dealing with a grass fire on Pea Lane in Upminster
• Twelve fire engines were tackling a fire involving garden fencing and trees on Uxbridge Road in Pinner
• Ten fire engines were attending a restaurant fire on Green Lanes in Southgate
• Eight fire engines were tackling a grass fire on Oaks Road in Croydon
• Eight fire engines were dealing with a grass fire on Ballards Road in Dagenham
• Eight fire engines were attending a fire on The Broadway in Wembley
• Six fire engines were tackling a grass fire on Sunningfields Crescent in Hendon
• Four fire engines were dealing with a grass fire on Chapel View in Croydon
• Four fire engines were attending a fire on Sidcup Road in Eltham.
news.sky.com...

Helicopter live stream.

originally posted by: gortex
...and London's Burning

Maybe if you lived by the river instead.

I wonder if they were electrical fires with perhaps many electrical fans or AC units going.

Does the heat have anything to do with the fires other than helping to make the plants more flammable?

I mean, did the heat start any of the fires? Did it make the houses explode which has been mentioned as a prediction on other threads? It has been discussed that most homes and businesses don't have air-conditioners there so overloaded power systems would not be a problem.

Did people just do stupid things that caused the fires like people do sometimes?

Maybe this is the earths way of a fever so to speak.
Yeah, you know what I am saying...

It hilt like 37c today for a few hours in the hottest part of the day and will be like 25c in a few hours to drop off to 25c or lower for the next 10 days, you all are wimps.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

People do some really weird stuff when it is super hot or cold.
It would not surprise me if the vast majority of fires were from human activity.

Also when it is super hot it dries things out, like grass etc. Which then become tinder.
A lone cigarette can do a lot of damage.

I live in the middle of the Sonora Desert AZ. Record temp 124.

You have to respect the heat. You don't fight it.

You move slowly, you cover up -- wear long sleeves, loose clothing, and a sun hat. Keep home window coverings closed.

Get up early, do what you gotta do -- quit early -- restart in the evening. There's a reason those on the Equator take mid-day siestas.

I keep my A/C at 80. But, sometimes inside temp is higher. I do use a fan to circulate air.

I don't understand why some try to compensate by turning their home into a refrigerator.

a reply to: quintessentone

By the look of things many of them are grass or field fires.

originally posted by: burntheships
Maybe this is the earths way of a fever so to speak.
Yeah, you know what I am saying...

Maybe the earth isn't alive and doesn't care whet humans do or anything else...

Yeah, you know what I'm saying...

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: quintessentone

By the look of things many of them are grass or field fires.

38c isn't some crazy temp where fires start, even 50c...

a reply to: gortex

How devastating! I'm so sorry this is happening there and hope for no loss of lives.

The Pacific Northwest has been dealing with fires that wipe out entire towns for a few years now; it's truly the foundation of nightmares.

a reply to: beyondknowledge

I guess if there was broken glass in a field it could potentially start a fire, but also the sale of fans rose 640% over the last four days there.

a reply to: Xtrozero

A little bit of reverse psychology never hurts now and then.

My bro is in Walthamstow and from on his roof he's seeing big smoke from the fire in Dartford.

I'm wondering-there are so many sh1te quality electronics around these days with dodgy as heck cheapo chinese lithium batteries in..Do they explode/combust more easily in this kind of heat?

I am betting they do as anything electrical runs hotter-my pc fan has stepped things up for example.

Keep safe Londoners we don't want another great fire.

In the Sonora Desert - with plenty of dry chaparral - I am unaware of any fire that started naturally from heat.

originally posted by: burntheships


A little bit of reverse psychology never hurts now and then.

True

originally posted by: Annee
In the Sonora Desert - with plenty of dry chaparral - I am unaware of any fire that started naturally from heat.

Growing up in Phoenix in the 60s we had a swamp cooler and it worked extremely well.

a reply to: Xtrozero

38c isn't some crazy temp where fires start...

Didn't say it was but it is a temp where carless accidents can cause big problems , Perhaps some were set deliberately.

Having been out in it all day I can say 38 is a crazy temp for a Brit.

originally posted by: Xtrozero

originally posted by: Annee
In the Sonora Desert - with plenty of dry chaparral - I am unaware of any fire that started naturally from heat.

Growing up in Phoenix in the 60s we had a swamp cooler and it worked extremely well.

I started with a swamp cooler -- about 30 years ago.

I'm 3 hours baja Phoenix.

So, you understand "respect the heat".