A gigantic plume of black smoke visible in North London
A dense plume of black smoke was seen over London, also from the north of the capital. The most recent source of a plume of this scale is the Mitcham industrial and brush fire, which mobilized 125 firefighters.
A tall plume of black smoke once again marked the sky over the British capital. Witnesses in north London neighborhoods described a dense plume of smoke, visible for miles, that darkened the horizon and generated calls to emergency services and social media posts asking about the fire's origin. The incident coincides with the largest fire this week in the metropolitan area: on August 26, the London Fire Brigade deployed 20 fire engines and some 125 firefighters to an industrial site near Carshalton Road in Mitcham (south London). The fire affected a workshop, a tire center, and a scaffolding depot, and spread to several hectares of dry scrubland. The smoke was so thick that it was visible from distant areas, including Croydon and, according to reports, even Shepherd's Bush. Authorities asked residents to close their windows and doors.
The blaze was declared under control at 8:28 p.m. BST that day, but the remaining hotspots and the trail of smoke explain why the plume continued to be a topic of discussion in the city. There is no new major fire in north London this morning's public list of incidents that matches that plume. What has occurred in the north in recent days are smaller grassland fires—for example, in Tottenham—and a smaller house fire in Stanmore.
London has been experiencing a summer of parched vegetation and numerous grass fires. The mayor warned of “unprecedented” pressure on emergency services. In this context, any dark plume is seen from a distance and is rightly interpreted as an air quality warning: the LFB's usual advice is to stay away, keep windows closed, and follow official reports.
Until the brigade identifies a different source in the north, the most plausible explanation for a “gigantic column of black smoke” visible from that part of the city remains the industrial fire in Mitcham and the plume drifting across the London skyline.
Se desata un incendio cerca del estadio de Wembley tras informes de una «explosión»
✍️Informa @raulgpeinado desde Londres pic.twitter.com/JYzapgeCcZ — ABC.es (@abc_es) August 28, 2026
Video by ABC.es/
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