I observed the Salford Priors wildfire up close and personal.

1. Fire started at 3.30pm.
2. Spread very quickly to several fields.
3. Local residents tried to steer traffic away and eventually police closed the area to all traffic for several hours while 10 tenders attended.
4. Fire appliances had to refuel from local water mains which Severn Trent Water had to manage by reducing local water pressure.
5. Drones were flying overnight to monitor hotspots. We saw them from our windows.
6. A further flare-up needed control by one remaining appliance that stayed on site through Friday.
7. The farmer had to evacuate livestock throughout the incident and into the night.
8. One family was accomodated at our neighbour when their residence was put at risk and the fire services advised them to get out immediately, with an ambulance on site to check for smoke inhalation.

Stourbridge was even worse, clearly, but this is the effort that goes into dealing with a wildfire. The only thing wrong with the alert is that it came too late for those people.