Huge fire near Wembley forces Amazon warehouse evacuation amid ‘explosion’ reports

Smoke from a fire in an industrial estate barely a mile away from Wembley Stadium was seen as far away as Westminster, and the blaze brought in 125 firefighters, shut the Metropolitan line and forced a nearby Amazon warehouse to evacuate, with the cause still unclear. 

125 firefighters and a drone team tackle blaze at LondonEnergy site

London Fire Brigade said it received more than 70 calls reporting the blaze from shortly after 11:34am on Friday August 28, at a site on Hannah Close in Neasden, a residential and industrial pocket of the London borough of Brent just south of the stadium, behind the area’s IKEA store. 

Twenty fire engines and around 125 firefighters were sent to the scene, backed up by a drone team, a hose-laying unit and a high-volume pump.. Three 32-metre ladders were also deployed, with crews coming from Wembley, Park Royal, Willesden and surrounding fire stations.

The affected site is run by LondonEnergy, the waste and recycling operator that processes rubbish for several London boroughs. Reports from the scene described a single unit roughly 100 metres by 150 metres as ablaze, with smoke visible more than nine miles away.

There's a large fire in North London / Brent area pic.twitter.com/HCV2gYqm0z

— CaptainXeno (@CaptainXeno91) August 28, 2026

Reports of an ‘explosion’, but the cause remains unclear 

Several eyewitnesses reported hearing an explosion as the fire took hold, and video shared on social media showed a thick plume of black smoke rising over the area. London Fire Brigade described the blaze as breaking out at a waste facility, though it has not confirmed any explosion, and said the cause of the fire was not yet known. The London Ambulance Service said no patients were being treated at the scene, and there were no reports of anyone injured, despite the scale of the response.

Amazon warehouse evacuated as smoke spread across Neasden

A nearby Amazon warehouse was evacuated as a precaution once smoke began spreading across the industrial estate, according to reports from the scene. London Fire Brigade urged people to avoid the area altogether, while residents nearby were told to close their doors and windows and stay indoors because of the large amount of smoke being produced.

Tube and rail lines thrown into disruption

The Metropolitan line was suspended entirely, and the Jubilee line was hit with severe delays, with Neasden, Wembley Park, Willesden Green and West Hampstead stations all closed as the part suspension was extended through the afternoon. 

Chiltern Railways also reported disruption towards Aylesbury, with delays between London Marylebone and Harrow-on-the-Hill expected to continue until 2pm, while the North Circular road saw queueing traffic as drivers were diverted around the scene. 

It is the latest in a run of large precautionary responses across the capital this year, following an evacuation at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 over a hazmat scare and a fire at a west London substation in the spring.

Wembley Stadium itself unaffected, days before its biggest weekend

Wembley Stadium itself was left unscathed by the fire, which broke out around a mile from the ground and away from any of the surrounding event infrastructure. The venue is due to host All In: London, All Elite Wrestling’s pay-per-view show expected to draw tens of thousands of fans through those same Tube and rail links that have been affected, this Sunday August 30. It is the second time this year Wembley has made headlines beyond football and music, after plans for a “ticket tax” on visitors emerged in the summer.

Firefighters remained at the scene into Friday afternoon, working to bring the blaze under control as the cause continued to be investigated.