Wildfire damages Forty Hall Estate grassland
Firefighters battled a blaze across two hectares of land on Friday afternoon.
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From the archive. This story was written up on 29 July 2026 from reporting first published on 20 July 2026, which is the date shown above. We took up the back catalogue of the local titles we read when this site launched, so the events are older than the page.
A significant wildfire erupted at Forty Hall Estate on Friday, July 17th, damaging around two hectares of grassland. The blaze required a substantial response from the London Fire Brigade (LFB), with four fire engines and approximately 25 firefighters attending the scene.
The fire took hold between 1:12pm and 3:11pm. Crews employed specialist equipment, including 'backpack blowers' and wildfire 'beaters', to contain the flames and prevent them from spreading further into the estate's wooded areas. A shift in wind direction also aided efforts to control the fire, directing it away from sensitive sites.
Context of Dry Conditions
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The incident occurred during a period of hot and dry weather across the capital. Enfield borough, where the estate is located, had not experienced significant rainfall for approximately one month prior to the wildfire. The LFB has issued repeated warnings regarding the heightened risk of wildfires due to such conditions.
Volunteers from the Enfield Archaeological Society, who were conducting an excavation on the site of Elsyng Palace within the estate, observed the fire's rapid spread. They noted its initial alarming movement towards their dig site before the change in wind direction provided some relief.
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The precise cause of the wildfire at Forty Hall Estate is currently under investigation by the LFB. No further details regarding the origin of the blaze have been released.
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