Cornwall’s phones sounded at 7pm as a barbecue ban landed

You had probably just sat down to eat when every phone in the house went off at once. Just after 7pm on Friday, a siren tone and a red screen arrived on millions of devices across Cornwall and the rest of England and Wales. This one was not a test.

What the alert said

The message was sent by the UK government at 7.01pm on Friday 14 August, going out on a rolling basis from around 7pm. It warned that the risk of wildfires was very high across the country, and asked residents, landowners and visitors not to do anything that could start one. Disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators and fireworks were all named.

“Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire,” the alert said, warning that lives, homes, businesses and the crews sent to deal with fires were all at risk. People were told to follow official updates and to report any sign of fire straight away by calling 999. The full wording is still published on the government’s emergency alerts page.

Why it was sent

Louise Haigh, the First Secretary of State, said the decision had been taken in response to the continuing risk from wildfires, and described it as the most extensive use of the UK’s alert system in response to a live incident. She asked people to take simple steps during the extreme heat to cut the chance of more fires starting.

Earlier on Friday the Prime Minister visited Stourbridge in the West Midlands to meet residents whose homes had been damaged by fire and to thank the crews who had been working around the clock. A package of immediate support was announced alongside the visit. It includes emergency funding for the fire and rescue services under the heaviest pressure, around 100 military personnel deployed in South Wales with a further 100 following that evening, and the barbecue ban. All of it comes after a COBR meeting chaired earlier in the week.

Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said a number of firefighters had been taken to hospital after incidents on Thursday, and paid tribute to them. Her department has written to councils across England reminding them of the powers they already hold, including Public Spaces Protection Orders that can restrict barbecues, campfires and other open fires in vulnerable areas. A national wildfire summit is planned for later this year with the National Fire Chiefs Council and the Fire Brigades Union.

Cornwall was already living it

The alert landed in a county that has spent a fortnight watching smoke rise off its own hillsides. Devon and Cornwall are officially in drought after the driest July on record, a hosepipe ban has been in force since 8 August, and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service has reported an 80 per cent rise in wildfires.

The list of recent incidents is long. On 3 August crews fought a gorse fire on the North Cliffs near Portreath that burned through the night, with plumes visible right across the bay. On Tuesday 11 August there were two more, at Mawgan Porth and at Porth in Newquay, and residents were asked to keep doors and windows shut because of the smoke.

Wednesday 12 August was harder again. A wildfire at Carnmarth near Lanner was reported at 7.10am and brought nearly 60 calls in to fire control, with four appliances sent and smoke drifting over Lanner and Redruth. At around 12.20pm a second blaze took hold in the St Buryan area near Land’s End Airport. The airport closed temporarily while passengers and staff were moved away from the site. Sarah Torr, watching from nearby, described a “wall of fire”. National Trust workers were seen rounding up semi-wild grazing horses to get them clear.

The disposable barbecue ban

The most concrete change is on the shop shelves. Retailers have been told to take disposable barbecues out of sale immediately, everywhere in the country. The measure is temporary and stays under review, but the government says it will hold while the heightened wildfire risk continues.

It lines up with what fire crews in Cornwall have been asking for all summer, alongside a request to postpone controlled burns while conditions stay hot and dry. The service has said the risk of spread, combined with the sheer demand on crews, means even a planned burn can quickly become difficult to manage.

What you are being asked to do

• Do not light fires or open flames in the countryside or other open spaces, including parks, moorland and wooded areas.
• Never leave a household barbecue unattended, and make sure it is completely out afterwards.
• Put smoking materials out properly, and never throw a cigarette end from a vehicle.
• Take litter home, particularly glass bottles, which can concentrate sunlight and start a fire.
• Call 999 straight away if you see any sign of fire.

If your phone stayed quiet

Alerts reach phones and tablets on 4G and 5G, so an older handset or one sitting out of signal will not get one. Devices sound a siren tone for roughly ten seconds and vibrate, even on silent. You can switch alerts off in your phone settings, though the advice is to leave them on. The system has been used only a handful of times since it launched in 2023, including the red weather warning during Storm Eowyn and flash flooding in Cumbria.

The ban on disposable barbecue sales stays while the risk holds. Cornwall is still in drought, the hosepipe ban has not been lifted, and the fire service is still asking people to leave the controlled burns until the weather breaks.