Firefighters battled a large grassland fire at Sheldon Country Park in Birmingham on Monday, August 3, 2026, during the latest heatwave. The blaze, which broke out earlier in the day, devastated a section of grassland at the beauty spot, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.
Location and immediate response
The fire occurred just behind Mapledene Primary School, near Cranes Park Road. At the height of the incident, the community group Friends of Sheldon Country Park issued urgent warnings on Facebook, urging locals to avoid the area and allow emergency services to work safely.
"Please allow firefighters, park rangers and the emergency services the space they need to deal with this incident safely," the group wrote. "Please avoid the affected area. Don't gather to watch and do not block access routes needed by emergency vehicles."
Community gratitude and fire service efforts
In a later update, the group expressed deep gratitude to West Midlands Fire Service for their "prompt response." They highlighted the challenging conditions crews faced and their success in preventing the fire from spreading further.
"An enormous thank you to West Midlands Fire Service for their prompt response this evening to a large grass fire at Sheldon Country Park," the group added. "Their crews worked hard through challenging conditions to bring the incident under control and prevented it from spreading further. We're incredibly grateful for their dedication this evening and thank everyone involved for what could have been a much more serious incident."
Ongoing operations and recent fires
Footage showed firefighters damping down remaining hotspots at the parkland. At the time of publication, the fire service's control room confirmed to BirminghamLive that crews were still in attendance.
This incident follows a series of grassland fires in the region over the previous 48 hours. Barr Beacon was hit by a blaze on August 2, which ripped through grassland, blackening trees and bushes. Earlier on August 3, a section of the M5 was shut after a fire broke out "off-network" and spread to an embankment at the motorway's edge.
BirminghamLive has contacted West Midlands Fire Service for further comment.
