Sheffield weather: Homes destroyed in wildfires as major incident is declared by emergency services

An emergency incident was declared earlier as emergency services faced huge demand.

It has now emerged that a number of wildfires which developed across the county today destroyed a number of homes.

MORE: Sheffield heatwave: Residents urged to keep windows and doors shut as firefighters tackle allotments fire

MORE: Families in Barnsley and Rotherham have been left devastated after their homes went up in flames.

Sheffield heatwave: City smashes record with over 39C for the first time ever

In addition to emergency services being praised for their efforts to prevent wildfires spreading, members of the public have also been described as heroes for their efforts to stop flames reaching homes.

Unfortunately, as UK temperatures exceeded 40C for first time on record in parts of the UK, a number of properties in the Moorland Avenue area in Barnsley were engulfed in flames.

Local councillor Kevin Osborne tweeted a series of images of the scene.

He said: “Please keep away from Woodland Drive area and let the professionals in this do their thing.”

Meanwhile, a number of homes in Kiveton Park, Rotherham, have also been destroyed.

A field off Lambrell Avenue went up in flames after temperatures reached their peak.

Residents were evacuated and Wales Parish Offices and St John’s Church were opened for those needing to escape the flames.

Homes on Stockwell Avenue were affected by the fire, which was described as “raging” at its height.

A number of homes were said to have been “gutted”.

One woman whose garage was destroyed posted on Facebook: “So grateful to all neighbours and everyone else who rallied round to stop the fire – saving our house and others before the fire brigade arrived.

“All we ended up with was a gutted garage, could have been so much worse. My heart goes out to the families whose houses were gutted.”

In another Facebook post, a number of individuals were singled out for recognition by their community for saving Kiveton Park homes.

They were described as “heroes of the hour, stepping up and fighting fires in the community”.

The post continued: “Without you guys the fires around the village would have caused a lot more destruction. Well done guys.”