Fossil fuel producers should pay for wildfire helicopters, Zack Polanski says

Next week is the anniversary of the start of the Langdale Moor Fire in North Yorkshire, the largest wildfire in the country last year.

Fossil fuel producers should be forced to pay for firefighting helicopters following the outbreak of blazes in the UK, the Green Party’s leader has said.

At a press conference this morning, Zack Polanski made the plea as he warned: “We are facing the biggest threat to this country since the Second World War.”

Several wildfires have broken out in the UK over recent weeks, including in the Peak District which blocked the Woodhead Pass for days.

Next week is the anniversary of the start of the Langdale Moor Fire in North Yorkshire, the largest wildfire in the country last year.

It took more than a month to put out and was declared a major incident as the rescue effort of fire crews, farmers and gamekeepers was beset by explosions from World War Two munitions.

The blaze was eventually put out, but not before it had surged towards properties and businesses.

Mr Polanski said since the blazes, ministers had produced “no emergency briefings, no new plan and precious little detail about how this Government will protect people from the crisis”.

He warned that “the sheer scale of the devastation is hard to comprehend” but added: “We need to look it in the face because this is only a taster of what’s to come if we don’t act now.”

He continued: “We need a robust wildfire prevention strategy, a fire service with the resources it needs to tackle blazes when they come.

“And that must include firefighting helicopters when needed and not again ever seeing the shocking sight of requiring a charity to step in to contract a private firm to help fight fires.

“And this should all be funded by taxing the fossil fuel giants who are profiting from fuelling these infernos.”

None of England’s fire and rescue services are thought to have direct access to firefighting aircraft.

Phil Garrigan, chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council, has previously said he backed “investment in specialist wildfire capabilities, including aerial firefighting support”.

Mr Polanski also called for water companies to be taken “into public hands” because “money is flowing out of our hands into the pockets of shareholders, just like water is flowing out of those companies’ leaky pipes in the middle of a drought”.