Cheltenham Wildfire History

Grassland, woodland and crop fires recorded in Cheltenham and within 10 km of the town since April 2010, with every day of high fire severity.

Grass and Woodland Fires Around Cheltenham

Fire crews are called to grass, woodland and crop fires around Cheltenham most weeks from spring to early autumn. Most are small, but in a dry summer fires on the hills and in fields can spread across more than a hectare. This page counts every grassland, woodland and crop fire recorded in the GL50 to GL54 postcodes and the surrounding area within 10 km of the town centre since April 2010.

Years run from April to March, as in the official fire statistics, so 2022/23 covers April 2022 to March 2023. The hot, dry summer of 2022 saw the most fires in the area so far, and July is the busiest month. For today’s risk and the five-day forecast, see the wildfire risk page.

Fires by Year

Year Cheltenham Surrounding area Total All Gloucestershire
2010/11 47 11 58 206
2011/12 75 19 94 270
2012/13 19 6 25 96
2013/14 65 9 74 174
2014/15 33 8 41 111
2015/16 43 12 55 179
2016/17 33 9 42 139
2017/18 56 11 67 196
2018/19 60 9 69 274
2019/20 39 13 52 189
2020/21 64 17 81 239
2021/22 67 7 74 200
2022/23 94 30 124 378
2023/24 42 9 51 130
2024/25 25 12 37 137
2025/26 Not yet published Not yet published Not yet published 397

Fires by Month

Month Cheltenham Surrounding area Total
January 15 3 18
February 18 2 20
March 54 16 70
April 99 12 111
May 75 24 99
June 92 20 112
July 147 39 186
August 114 35 149
September 70 12 82
October 45 9 54
November 21 4 25
December 12 6 18

Busiest Days

Date Cheltenham Surrounding area Fires
2022-08-05 5 1 6
2019-07-04 5 0 5
2022-08-12 5 0 5
2011-08-10 2 2 4
2021-09-01 4 0 4
2022-08-03 3 1 4
2022-08-10 3 1 4
2022-08-14 3 1 4
2010-07-06 2 1 3
2011-04-22 3 0 3

Where Fires Happen

Area District Part of Fires
Cleeve Hill Tewkesbury Cheltenham 65
Pittville Cheltenham Cheltenham 64
Winchcombe Tewkesbury Cheltenham 47
Springbank Cheltenham Cheltenham 46
St Peter's Cheltenham Cheltenham 37
Swindon Village Cheltenham Cheltenham 36
Shurdington Tewkesbury Cheltenham 34
Churchdown Brookfield with Hucclecote Tewkesbury Surrounding area 31
Oakley Cheltenham Cheltenham 30
Battledown Cheltenham Cheltenham 28
Leckhampton Cheltenham Cheltenham 27
Up Hatherley Cheltenham Cheltenham 27
Brockworth West Tewkesbury Surrounding area 23
St Paul's Cheltenham Cheltenham 22
Sandywell Cotswold Cheltenham 21
Northleach Cotswold Cheltenham 19
Bourton Vale Cotswold Cheltenham 17
Ermin Cotswold Cheltenham 17
Badgeworth Tewkesbury Cheltenham 17
Chedworth & Churn Valley Cotswold Cheltenham 16

Largest Fires

Date Area District Part of Area burned
2018-07-14 Northleach Cotswold Cheltenham Over 10,000 m²
2011-07-01 Swindon Village Cheltenham Cheltenham 5,001 to 10,000 m²
2011-08-12 Badgeworth Tewkesbury Cheltenham 5,001 to 10,000 m²
2014-07-23 Swindon Village Cheltenham Cheltenham 5,001 to 10,000 m²
2014-09-07 Winchcombe Tewkesbury Cheltenham 5,001 to 10,000 m²
2022-08-19 Northleach Cotswold Cheltenham 5,001 to 10,000 m²
2025-03-31 Shurdington Tewkesbury Cheltenham 5,001 to 10,000 m²
2018-06-26 Severn Vale South Tewkesbury Surrounding area 2,001 to 5,000 m²
2018-07-22 Sandywell Cotswold Cheltenham 2,001 to 5,000 m²
2021-04-14 Chedworth & Churn Valley Cotswold Cheltenham 2,001 to 5,000 m²
2022-08-10 Chedworth & Churn Valley Cotswold Cheltenham 2,001 to 5,000 m²
2022-08-13 Ermin Cotswold Cheltenham 2,001 to 5,000 m²
2022-08-15 Badgeworth Tewkesbury Cheltenham 2,001 to 5,000 m²
2017-04-11 Charlton Kings Cheltenham Cheltenham 1,001 to 2,000 m²
2019-08-05 Winchcombe Tewkesbury Cheltenham 1,001 to 2,000 m²

High Fire Severity Days

Every day since 2026-10-08 when the Met Office rated fire severity high (3 of 5) or above in any of the 10 km grid squares around Cheltenham.

No days have reached high fire severity around Cheltenham since 2026-10-08.

Data from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government fire statistics, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and from the Met Office Fire Severity Index, published by Natural England. Last updated 9 October 2026. Fire severity checked daily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Fires Are Counted?

  • Every fire that fire and rescue services recorded on grassland, woodland or crops, from small grass fires to large field and hillside fires.
  • Fires in gardens, parks, bins and buildings are not included.
  • Official statistics do not define a wildfire, so these counts include small fires that would not meet the fire service's definition of one.

What Counts as Cheltenham and the Surrounding Area?

  • Cheltenham is every small census area in the GL50 to GL54 postcodes, which takes in Bishop's Cleeve, Winchcombe and the villages of the north Cotswolds as well as the town.
  • The surrounding area is every other small census area whose centre is within 10 km of Cheltenham town centre, such as Churchdown, Brockworth, Badgeworth and the east of Gloucester.

Why Is the Latest Year Missing for Cheltenham?

  • Fire services across England moved to a new national recording system in November 2025. The fire statistics for 2025/26 were published without the location of any fire in England, so fires for that year cannot be split between Cheltenham and the surrounding area.
  • It is not yet known whether locations will be added in a later release. The Gloucestershire column covers every year, so the county-wide trend continues either way.
  • Gloucestershire recorded 397 grassland, woodland and crop fires in 2025/26, the most in any year since 2010/11.

Are Most Fires Started Deliberately?

  • 47% of the fires around Cheltenham since 2010/11 (441 of 944) were recorded as started deliberately.
  • The rest were recorded as accidental or with no known cause.

Which Fire Severity Days Are Recorded?

  • The Met Office issues a new fire severity forecast each morning. Any day rated high (3 of 5), very high or exceptional around Cheltenham is added to the table here.
  • Low and moderate days, which make up most of the year, are not listed.
  • The current forecast for the next five days is on the wildfire risk page.