Engagement with landowners was a standout strength of the response and made a highly significant contribution to operational success. Alongside partner agencies, farmers, gamekeepers, contractors, the Ministry of Defence, Local Resilience Forum partners, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and local communities, landowners demonstrated exceptional commitment, collaboration and community spirit throughout the incident. Their collective support provided local knowledge, access to land, specialist equipment, water resources, logistical assistance and strategic coordination at critical stages of the response. The willingness of so many individuals and organisations to assist at pace and over a sustained period materially enhanced operational capability and strongly reflected the resilience, generosity and public-spirited nature of the communities affected by the incident.

Many landowners acted swiftly and proactively to protect land, property and livelihoods, often in challenging and uncertain conditions. This response was rooted in positive intent, deep knowledge of the local environment and a genuine desire to support firefighters and neighbouring communities. Their actions, equipment and insight provided real and tangible benefit to the response, particularly across a large, remote and geographically dispersed incident ground.

Given the scale, urgency and complexity of the incident, there were early challenges in ensuring that all activity was fully coordinated through the formal command structure. This was understandable in the context of the rapid escalation, multiple access points and the sheer volume of goodwill and practical support being offered. As the incident developed, command and control arrangements evolved to better integrate this support. The introduction of additional command points and strengthened coordination processes improved oversight, enabled clearer tasking and ensured landowner support could be used safely and effectively within the wider incident plan.

Local fire crews, particularly On-call and volunteer firefighters drawn from these communities, played a vital role in supporting this integration. Their trusted relationships, local knowledge and understanding of land use were instrumental in bridging engagement between landowners and the formal command structure, further strengthening coordination and mutual confidence.

In some areas, limited pre-existing arrangements with landowners meant that early situational awareness, including land management practices, water availability and site specific risks, developed progressively rather than immediately. This experience reinforces the value of building on the strong relationships demonstrated during this incident through more structured, pre-incident engagement.

Overall, landowners, partner agencies and wider stakeholders played a valuable and often critical role in supporting the response. This included farmers, gamekeepers, contractors, Ministry of Defence personnel, Local Resilience Forum partners, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, local communities and many others who contributed resources, expertise, coordination and practical assistance throughout the incident. The level of cooperation, goodwill and collective effort demonstrated was a clear strength and is deserving of recognition. The learning identified presents an opportunity to further strengthen these partnerships through clearer pre-incident expectations, access arrangements and coordination mechanisms, ensuring that local knowledge, community support and partner capabilities can be even more effectively integrated in future incidents while maintaining appropriate command, control and safety.

 What Worked Well
• Strong and proactive engagement from landowners, farmers and local stakeholders, making a significant contribution to operational success
• Exceptional community spirit demonstrated through the provision of local knowledge, land access, plant, equipment and water resources
• Rapid, positive action by landowners to help protect land, property and livelihoods under challenging and uncertain conditions
• Practical insight proved particularly valuable across a large, remote and geographically dispersed incident ground
• Local fire crews, especially On-call and volunteer firefighters, effectively bridged relationships between landowners and the formal command structure
• Trusted relationships and local knowledge improved coordination, situational awareness and mutual confidence as the incident progressed

Learning Opportunities

• Develop a wildfire engagement and pre-planning framework with landowners and key stakeholders, building on the existing Fire Operations Group (FOG) concept
• Explore how stakeholders who are not Category 1 or 2 responders can be more effectively integrated into command-and-control arrangements and the Local Resilience Forum (LRF) framework.