Wildfire Survival Advice: What I Told The Telegraph

By Steven Kelly

On 17 August 2026, The Telegraph published an article about what people should do if they find themselves threatened by a wildfire and asked me to contribute practical survival advice.

For me, the most important point is that wildfire survival is rarely about one dramatic trick. It is about making good decisions early, while you still have options.

Read The Telegraph article here.

Wildfire survival starts before the fire reaches you

The biggest mistake people make in emergencies is waiting until the situation feels urgent before acting.

Wildfires can change quickly because of wind, terrain, dry vegetation and local conditions. Smoke can also reduce visibility and make a route that looked obvious only minutes earlier much harder to use.

If local authorities or emergency services issue an evacuation instruction, follow it. Do not delay because you want to collect more belongings, take photographs or see what happens next.

Early movement gives you choices. Late movement removes them.

Do not go back for possessions

One of the points I stressed when speaking about wildfire survival was the danger of returning for valuables.

Property can be replaced. Time cannot.

Once somebody has reached a safer location, going back into an area affected by fire or smoke can put them straight back into the danger they have just escaped. It can also create another problem for emergency services if conditions deteriorate.

That decision sounds obvious when you are reading it calmly. Under pressure, people behave differently. They think about passports, phones, pets, vehicles and personal possessions. That is why emergency decisions need to be simple and made early.

Smoke can be as serious as the flames

People naturally focus on visible fire, but smoke can become a major threat long before flames reach a person.

It can affect breathing, visibility and judgement. Roads and tracks that seem familiar can become difficult to recognise, and the temptation to keep moving into uncertainty can make the situation worse.

The priority should be to follow official instructions, move away from the affected area as early as possible and avoid putting yourself into a route where smoke or fire is already reducing your options.

Why pressure changes decision-making

My background has taught me that survival is often less about knowing hundreds of techniques and more about continuing to make sensible decisions when the situation becomes uncomfortable.

I served for 23 years in the British Army, including with 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, where fieldcraft, navigation, preparation and decision-making under pressure were part of normal working life.

I have also had those principles tested on survival television, including 21 days on Naked and Afraid in Colombia and 35 days on Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse in South Africa.

The environments are different, but the principle is the same: small delays and poor decisions can combine very quickly.

You can read more about that side of my work on my TV Survival Expert page.

Five practical wildfire preparation habits

If you are travelling, camping or staying in an area where wildfires are possible, basic preparation can make a major difference.

• Know how local emergency alerts work. Different countries and regions use different systems.
• Know your exit routes. Do not wait until smoke is visible before working out how to leave.
• Keep essential items together. Identification, medication, phone, charger and key documents should be easy to grab if evacuation is ordered.
• Keep your phone charged. Treat it as a tool for alerts, communication and navigation, not something to rely on as your only plan.
• Follow official instructions. Local emergency services have information about the fire that people on the ground may not have.

No checklist removes all risk, but preparation reduces the number of decisions you have to make when stress is already high.

The most dangerous mindset is waiting for certainty

People often want complete information before they act.

In a fast-moving emergency, complete information may never arrive.

You might not know exactly where the fire front is, how quickly conditions will change or whether a particular road will remain open. That uncertainty is precisely why official evacuation instructions and early preparation matter.

The objective is not to prove how calm or capable you are. The objective is to avoid getting trapped in the first place.

Why The Telegraph feature matters to my work

I spend a lot of time teaching practical survival skills, but survival knowledge also has a role in public information.

When a national publication asks for expert comment on a real-world emergency, the responsibility is to make the advice useful, simple and realistic.

My work now covers survival television, professional instruction, speaking and media commentary. Wildfires are one example of a wider subject: how people make decisions when normal systems stop working and pressure begins affecting judgement.

That includes extreme weather, outdoor emergencies, emergency preparedness, navigation, missing-person prevention and survival situations.

Read the full Telegraph article

Read The Telegraph wildfire survival article.

For more verified coverage, interviews and expert commentary, visit my Press & Features page.

Media and expert commentary

I am available for television, radio, print and digital media commentary on wilderness survival, emergency preparedness, extreme weather, outdoor safety, military resilience and decision-making under pressure.

For urgent media requests or speaking enquiries, visit my Speaking & Media Enquiries page.

About Steven Kelly

Steven Kelly, also known as Survival Ste, is a British TV survivalist, former British Army Warrant Officer, professional survival instructor, podcast host and founder of South West Survival.

His television credits include Discovery's Naked and Afraid and Naked and Afraid: Apocalypse, Naked, Alone and Racing to Get Home and the BBC's Bear Grylls: Wild Reckoning.

In an active wildfire emergency, follow instructions from local emergency services and official authorities. Conditions vary by location and can change rapidly.