The fire service was called to Field Farm Road around 4.30pm yesterday (July 1).
Around 60 firefighters in eight fire engines from Wennington, Hornchurch, Ilford and surrounding fire stations tackled the blaze.(Image: Yedis Drone Shots)
The flames covered a hectare of shrubland – or 10,000 square metres.
New Road was closed and Upminster Road North and Rainham Road experienced heavy traffic as a total of 21 people called in the fire.
Crews remained on scene throughout the evening to damp down hotspots.
The fire came amid a heatwave of historic highs in the UK with July 1 being the hottest day of the year so far.
St James’s Park in London saw England’s top temperature of 34.7 degrees with parts of Essex and Kent hitting 33 degrees.
The Met Office says June was the warmest June on record in England and the second warmest in the UK since records began in 1884.
The London Fire Brigade is increasing its preparedness for wildfires with new equipment as incidents of this kind become more common.
One of the LFB’s four wildfire response vehicles was used in Rainham, which can get closer to fires on open ground.
Each carries around 475 litres of water, a backpack blower, ear defenders, beaters and misting lance technology.
These allow firefighters to pump water and drive, which it says allows them to tackle grass fires more quickly and safely.
The fire was under control by around 6.30. The LFB has not said an investigation will be launched.
