John Craven says wildfires are getting harder to ignore. The Countryfile presenter called the recent blaze in the Cairngorms National Park a worrying sign of a growing threat and urged anyone who spots one to call 999 immediately.
He set that warning against a stark measure of damage: almost 48,000 hectares were torched last year, which he compared with 120,000 football pitches. As of August 10 this year, wildfires had already burned through over 23,000 hectares.
Banbury and the wildfire warning
Craven, who lives in a village near Banbury with his wife and brought up two daughters, wrote about wildfire prevention in Countryfile Magazine. The advice was practical rather than abstract: keep a safe distance, then call 999 if flames are visible. He also pointed to the everyday mistakes that can start fires, including throwing away a cigarette butt, starting a campfire, using a disposable barbecue, or discarding a glass bottle that intensifies beams of sunlight.
The scale matters because his warning arrives while the fire risk is already elevated, not waiting for a future season. John Craven described last year’s damage as record-breaking, and this year’s total had already passed 23,000 hectares before mid-August.
Friday, August 17 alert
Andy Burnham sanctioned a special national alert on Friday, August 17, saying there was a very high risk of wildfires nationally. It also told people not to use disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks. The alert and Craven’s warning point in the same direction: the danger is not theoretical, and the first move for the public is to avoid starting a fire in the first place.
Craven’s own framing is blunt. “While the elements provide the tinderbox, it’s often people who provide the spark by throwing a cigarette butt, starting a campfire, using a disposable barbecue, or discarding a glass bottle that intensifies beams of sunlight.” That leaves the immediate public task clear — treat smoke or flame as an emergency, and do not stay close enough to become part of it.
Countryfile and Newsround
Craven has spent 37 years presenting Countryfile since 1989, after a 17-year stint on Newsround that began when he launched it on the in 1972. That long run gives weight to the warning, but the useful part for readers is narrower: the message is not just that fires are spreading, but that a small lapse can become the spark. For people living near open land, the safest response is fast, simple, and built into the alert itself.
