Officials address wildfire threat to nuclear facilities amid eastern England blaze

A wildfire in eastern England, one of the largest the region has seen, was not affecting nearby nuclear facilities and was not expected to spread towards them, ‌fire officials and operators said on Thursday.

The facilities are French utility EDF's Sizewell B nuclear power station, which generates electricity, and Sizewell C, a new nuclear plant under construction. The wildfire was a few miles north of the sites.

Suffolk Fire and Rescue ⁠Service said it had increased its response and described the blaze at Dunwich Heath on England's east coast as one of the most challenging incidents in the county's history.

The fire has forced evacuations in nearby communities and prompted road closures, though authorities said there was no immediate threat to the nuclear sites and did not expect changing wind conditions to push the fire towards them.

"The terrain ‌and ⁠land between us, the fire, and Sizewell B and C means that it's not a significant fire spread concern," the local fire service's chief fire officer Jon Lacey told reporters, adding that both sites were being ⁠monitored and that authorities were in consultation with their operators.

Sizewell C said the fire posed a low risk to the project because of its distance ⁠from the site and intervening watercourses, while EDF said the blaze was not affecting operations at Sizewell B, which is separated ⁠from the fire by a body of water.

Housing minister Angela Rayner said the government was also monitoring the situation and stood ready to offer support. —Reuters