The UK government may have surprised a few people just after 7pm tonight after using the Emergency Alerts service via mobile network operators to send out a national warning about the “very high risk of wildfires nationally“, which advises people across the country to avoid undertaking any activity that could start a fire.

Generally speaking the advice in the alert is somewhat common sense and there may well be some debate about whether the current circumstances justified sending one. You can see a Summary of Past Emergency Alerts on the government’s official website.

NOTE: Emergency Alerts work on all 4G and 5G phone networks in the UK. Your mobile phone or tablet does not have to be connected to mobile data or Wi-Fi to get alerts. Users connected to a 2G network; Wi-Fi only; or via an incompatible device will usually NOT receive alerts.

Recipients (most of us) of the message will typically experience 10 seconds of a loud siren sound blaring out at you while your phone vibrates and displays the message, unless you press OK to stop it sooner. In this case most of those we spoke to received the latest message twice in fairly quick succession.

Andy Burnham, UK Prime Minister, said:

“This evening, an Emergency Alert has been sent to people across England and Wales as the wildfire risk remains very high. The request came directly from Fire and Rescue Services.

I was in Stourbridge today and saw first-hand the devastating impact these fires have had on people’s homes and lives.

Our priority now is to keep everyone safe and prevent more fires from starting.

During this period of extreme heat, I’m asking everyone to take extra care. Please do not light any fires in gardens, the countryside or other open spaces, including parks, moorland and wooded areas.

Our firefighters and emergency responders are working around the clock in incredibly difficult conditions.

We can all help them. Please take the Emergency Alert seriously and follow the guidance in place.”

The alerts themselves are broadcast from cell towers in the vicinity of an emergency (they don’t need your phone number for this to work) and will only ever come from the Government or emergency services. Such alerts are a free one-way secure communication and do NOT reveal anyone’s location or collect personal data.

However, some people may wish to opt out of the emergency alerts system (e.g. victims of domestic abuse or those likely to be driving on the day), which can be done by going into your phone’s settings – search this section for “emergency alerts“, “wireless emergency alerts” or “emergency broadcasts” – and then turning off “severe alerts“, “operator alerts“, “test alerts” and or “extreme alerts“. But we have found that these specific options don’t always exist, and Android users could also try this method (further details):

• Open your phone calling app
• Use the keypad to enter *#*#2627#*#*
• Search your settings for ‘emergency alerts’ and turn off ‘test alerts’, ‘exercise alerts’, ‘operator defined’ and ‘operator alerts’

Hopefully it goes without saying that you should NOT read or respond to an emergency alert when you are driving or riding a vehicle (this is illegal). Find somewhere safe and legal to stop before picking up your phone and reading the message.

Copy of the 14th August 2026 Alert

Emergency Emergency Alert

Issued by the UK Government

There is a very high risk of wildfires nationally. Residents, landowners and visitors should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks. Even a small flame can rapidly develop into a major wildfire placing lives, homes, businesses and emergency responders at risk.

Follow official updates and report signs of fire immediately by calling 999. Search gov.uk/alerts for more information.

Sent by the UK government at 7:01pm on Friday 14 August 2026