A state of emergency has been issued in New York as brush fires sweep through swathes of Long Island and near Brooklyn.

Firefighters are battling the flames with National Guard helicopters providing air support, according to New York State governor Kathy Hochul.

The flames are being fanned by high winds that spewed thick smoke into the sky and caused the evacuation of a military base and the closure of a major highway.

Governor Hochul said emergency workers were responding to the fires around the Pine Barrens, a wooded area that is home to commuter towns east of New York City.

“This is still out of control at this moment,” she told Long Island TV station News 12.

“We’re seeing people having to be evacuated from the Westhampton area.”

Around the same time as videos started appearing on social media showing the fires, the Town of Southampton issued a warning against starting recreational fires due to the wildfire risk.

“Exercise caution handling any potential ignition sources, including machinery, cigarettes, and matches,” the weather service warned.

“Any fires that ignite will have the potential to spread quickly.”

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NASA satellite data showed fire and smoke stretching roughly 2.5 miles along Sunrise Highway, a thoroughfare to the east end of Long Island.

Governor Hochul said homes, a chemical factory and an Amazon warehouse were at risk.

Video on social media showed plumes of smoke billowing from a fire near the Belt Parkway by Brooklyn.

The cause of the fires is not known at this time.

There have been no reports of injuries.

Police searching for the suspect in the Kent pub shooting on Valentine’s Day have recovered a body from the River Thames.

Lisa Smith, 43, was killed after she was shot outside The Three Horseshoes in Knockholt on the evening of Friday 14 February.

Later that night, the suspect, named as Edvard Smith, was believed to have fallen into the Thames from the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge which crosses the river at Dartford 17 miles away.

Around that time, the suspect’s car containing a handgun was found abandoned on the bridge and a man was seen on the wrong side of the barrier.

About a week after the shooting, Kent Police said they believed Edvard Smith had died after falling into the water.

The force has now said a body was found in the Thames near Rainham in Essex on Friday afternoon. It has not been formally identified but the suspect’s family have been told of the development.

Edvard Smith was known to Ms Smith and there had been no prior contact between the police and the victim or suspect.

‘So much commotion’

Following the shooting, the landlady of The Three Horseshoes, Michelle Thomas, told Sky News she heard two loud bangs that she initially “thought were fireworks” on the night of the attack.

She said there was “so much commotion – screaming, shouting, crying” and the shooting had left the community in “absolute shock”.

She said Ms Smith, from Slough, had been to the pub before, “mostly in the summer” but “wasn’t a regular”.

Ms Thomas also said about 30 people were at the pub for dinner, while 20 more were in the bar as the incident unfolded just after 7pm.

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Kent Police said on Saturday: “A body has been recovered by police from the River Thames, which is being linked to a murder investigation in Knockholt.

“On Friday 14 February 2025, Lisa Smith, 43, was killed after she was shot outside a pub in Main Road. The suspect was known to Lisa and later that evening officers found his car abandoned on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. Enquiries established he had fallen into the water below.

“At around 3.45pm on Friday 7 March, a body was located near Rainham, Essex. Formal identification has not yet taken place; however, the man’s family have been informed.”

Parts of the UK are expected to be hotter than the Balearic Islands, Costa del Sol and the Amalfi Coast this weekend.

The country is set to reach the highest temperatures of the year so far, with central England heating up to 20C on Sunday.

Saturday is also set to reach temperatures in the high teens, with East Anglia, northwest England, the north Midlands and North Wales hitting 18-19C, the Met Office said.

Those temperatures are believed to be above average for this time of year.

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Craig Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said there are a “few exceptions” to the “fine and sunny” weekend weather, including areas in the far north of Scotland, but those areas will still be generally dry and sunny.

Meanwhile, popular holiday destinations in Europe are expected to record cooler temperatures.

A high of 15C is forecast this weekend for Marbella on the south coast of Spain, a maximum of 17C is expected in Ibiza, and 18C is forecast for Sorrento on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

Sky News meteorologist Chris England said the warm weekend is not expected to last, with conditions “cooling off from the North on Sunday night and through Monday”.

A spell of rain will move south across the country early next week, bringing the return of a few wintry showers in the North and North East.

“While there is uncertainty in the extent of rain and wintry showers through the middle of next week, there is higher confidence that below average temperatures will continue through the week, bringing a very different feel to the mild weather over the weekend,” deputy chief meteorologist Chris Bulmer said.

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Temperatures will drop back below average across the UK from Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

Rural spots in Scotland could plummet as low as -4C, with maximum daytime temperatures typically between 5-8C.