Press Release - 20th August 2026 - Wildfire Watch Launch

FOR IMMEDIATE REL​EASE — 20 August 2026

Wildfire Watch UK (wildfirewatch.uk) brings fragmented wildfire information together into a single national picture and automatically alerts people when wildfire activity is detected or reported near places they care about.

Wildfire Watch UK - Free. National. Live. Built in North Wales. 

While on holiday, a Welsh resident learned from friends that a fast-moving wildfire was heading towards his off-grid home and glamping business — an experience that prompted him to launch a UK-wide wildfire monitoring and alerting service. 

Wildfire Watch UK was created by Nathan Green, a software developer and technologist who lives off-grid and runs an eco-retreat centre and glamping site near Corwen, North Wales. (See greenerglamping.uk and tymammawr.co.uk). Nathan uses hardware, data, automation and connected technologies to solve practical real-world problems. He has to. He lives with them.

Nathan was away on holiday when messages unexpectedly began arriving from friends asking whether he was safe.

A significant wildfire was burning near his home and business and was heading in its direction. Neither Nathan nor the person looking after his property, business and animals had been aware of the developing incident.

“It was an extremely alarming way to discover there was a wildfire heading towards my home,” said Nathan.

“I was at Prague airport when the messages started arriving. Friends started asking me whether I was OK, and initially I didn’t even know what they were talking about. The person looking after my home, business and animals didn’t know either. Luckily the fire changed direction. It was scary. This happened in March — hardly a time of year when most people would expect a wildfire to be threatening their home!

“Once I started looking into it, I realised the information wasn’t necessarily absent — it was scattered all over the place. Different fire services publish information in different ways, if at all. Satellite systems can detect fires from space, local media and communities may know about incidents, but there isn’t one simple UK-wide picture for somebody who just wants to know: is there a wildfire near me? Am I and my property safe?

“Wildfire Watch grew out of trying to solve that problem.”

From satellite detection to personal alerts

Wildfire Watch brings together multiple sources of wildfire information, including near-real-time satellite fire detections and information published by UK fire and rescue services, to create a clearer national picture of wildfire and significant outdoor fire activity.

But its key purpose is not simply to put fires on a map.

Users can monitor locations that matter to them — such as their home, business, family or holiday destination — and receive automatic alerts when relevant wildfire activity is detected or reported nearby.

The technology combines and processes different types of wildfire intelligence and relates detected and reported activity geographically to locations being monitored by users. This removes the need for people to continually check individual fire-service websites, satellite maps, local news and other fragmented sources themselves.

Wildfire Watch is not an emergency service and does not replace official warnings or emergency instructions.

A record-breaking UK wildfire season

The launch comes as England and Wales are experiencing a record-breaking year for wildfires, with the number of incidents in 2026 already surpassing the previous annual record set in 2025.

The conditions fuelling that risk have also been exceptional. England and Wales recorded their driest July since records began in 1836, according to the Met Office, while Wales experienced its joint-warmest July on record and drought conditions affected the whole country.

Major wildfires this summer have included incidents requiring evacuations and major emergency-service responses, underlining how quickly significant outdoor fires can become a threat to communities.

Nathan believes Britain needs to adapt not only in how wildfires are fought, but also in how information about them reaches the public.

“Wildfire is no longer something we can think of as somebody else’s problem in southern Europe, Australia or California,” Nathan said.

“We already have extraordinary technology capable of detecting heat and fires from satellites hundreds of kilometres above us. We have fire services publishing incident information and communities sharing what they’re seeing on the ground.

“The missing piece is bringing those things together in a way ordinary people can actually use — and alerting them when it matters to them.”

Wildfire Watch is under active development and will continue to expand its coverage of UK fire and rescue services and other reliable wildfire information sources.

Wildfire Watch is live at wildfirewatch.uk. Accounts are free.

Media enquiries

Nathan Green - Founder, Wildfire Watch UK

w: wildfirewatch.uk
e: contact@wildfirewatch.uk
t: 07803148045

Nathan is available for interview. Photographs, screenshots, a detailed media backgrounder and further technical information are available on request.

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​Wildfire-Watch-UK-Launch-Press-Release-20-August-2026-v3.pdf
​Wildfire Watch Press Release Photos.zip

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