Army

More Army personnel called in to dig firebreaks in Wales as major wildfires burn across region

Sophie Perryer

17th August 2026 at 10:31am

Army steps in to help with South Wales wildfires pic MOD — Soldiers from 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (10 QOGLR) digging out fire breaks within the woodblocks in Wales by hand (Picture: MOD)

Soldiers from 10 Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment (10 QOGLR) assisting with filling up water bowsers and Mobile water reservoirs with water from local Welsh farmers and the Wales Fire Service using Military Close Support Tankers Pic MOD — Soldiers from 10 QOGLR help by filling up water bowsers and mobile water reservoirs with water (Picture: MOD)

At least 100 additional Army personnel have been deployed to South Wales as the region continues to tackle several major wildfires.

An initial tranche of 100 personnel from the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, supported by 22 Engineer Regiment, were sent to the region on Friday.

The size of the deployment has now doubled as South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS) said it was tackling a total of 14 incidents across the region as of Sunday afternoon.

Air Vice-Marshal Fin Monahan, the Chief Fire Officer of SWFRS, expressed his gratitude to the military for their support and said troops were "doing an utterly phenomenal job digging trenches and also helping us build fire breaks".

"That has liberated lots of our firefighters to go and do their more specialist skills of firefighting," he told the BBC.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham also expressed his gratitude to the military for stepping in to support communities after South Wales Fire and Rescue Service filed a formal MACA (Military Aid to the Civilian Authorities) request.

Armed Forces personnel have been supporting the response to wildfires in South Wales – working alongside local authorities and emergency services to provide planning, transport and coordination support.

Thank you for all you are doing helping keep communities safe. pic.twitter.com/OTKJvmYKsg
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 15, 2026

"We're very grateful to our colleagues in the Ministry of Defence," Mr Burnham told reporters on Friday.

"We have a system of mutual aid in play at the moment, where fire and rescue services are supporting each other, but with so many incidents, it is crucial that the military support is there if fire and rescue services can't do the same backup that they would normally be doing. So that is hugely appreciated."

In a written statement, Elin Jones MS, Cabinet Minister for Finance in the Welsh Government said: "We are extremely grateful to the Army for providing this additional support.

"The Welsh Government stands ready to provide funding for these military support operations should this be required."