UK police investigate a fire at Prime Minister Keir Starmer's private house

LONDON (AP) — British police on Monday were investigating an overnight fire at the London house where Prime Minister Keir Starmer lived before he was elected to lead the country.

Since taking office in July, Starmer has lived in the prime minister’s official Downing Street residence, renting out the family home in the Kentish Town neighborhood.

The fire's cause was considered suspicious, and London's Metropolitan Police force said counterterrorism officers were involved in the investigation.

Firefighters were called to “a small fire” just after 1 a.m., the city's fire department said. Two engines responded, and the blaze was out within a half-hour.

Police said officers who responded to the scene found damage "to the property's entrance," but that nobody was hurt.

A cordon of police tape was visible outside the house Monday.

Starmer’s house has attracted protesters in the past. Last year, three pro-Palestinian activists were arrested and charged with public order offenses after unfurling a banner covered in red handprints outside the building.

Starmer's spokesman, Dave Pares, said that “the prime minister thanks the emergency services for their work.”

He said the fire "is subject to a live investigation, so I can’t comment any further.”

A police cordon is seen in Kentish Town, near British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's house in north London, Monday, May 12, 2025. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Police officers search a bin in Kentish Town, near British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's house in north London, Monday, May 12, 2025. (James Manning/PA via AP)

A police officer is seen in Kentish Town, near British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's house in north London, Monday, May 12, 2025. (James Manning/PA via AP)

A police cordon is seen in Kentish Town, near British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's house in north London, Monday, May 12, 2025. (James Manning/PA via AP)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a press conference, ahead of the publication of the government’s Immigration White Paper, in London, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Ian Vogler, Pool Photo via AP)

Wildfires have forced evacuations for visitors and staff at two national parks in the U.S. West as the summer monsoon season brings increased lightning to the arid region.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, about 260 miles (418 kilometers) southwest of Denver, closed until further notice after lighting strikes sparked blazes on both rims, park officials said. The Grand Canyon’s North Rim in Arizona also closed because of a wildfire on adjacent Bureau of Land Management land near Jacob Lake.

The wildfire on Black Canyon of the Gunnison's South Rim ignited Thursday and has burned 2.5 square miles (6.5 square kilometers), with no containment of the perimeter. The smaller blaze on the North Rim was out as of Friday, according to an incident map.

The conditions there have been ripe for wildfires with hot temperatures, low humidity, gusty winds and dry vegetation, the park said, adding that weather remained a concern Friday.

Fire danger has ramped up in the West as drought conditions have worsened across several states. While monsoon season can drop much-needed moisture on the area from June through September, it can also bring dust storms and thunderstorms like those that ignited the wildfires in the Colorado and Arizona parks.

Firefighters saved Black Canyon's visitor center along the South Rim by removing dry vegetation and coating the building in a layer of protective material, fire officials said. Small aircrafts from Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control dropped retardant from the sky Friday while ground crews tried to contain the burn. Some park equipment and sheds were damaged, the park said.

In Arizona, the Coconino County Sheriff's Office said it helped evacuate people from an area north of Jacob Lake and campers in the Kaibab National Forest nearby. The fire began Wednesday evening after a thunderstorm moved through the area, fire officials said.

“Gusty and erratic winds” spread the flames Thursday afternoon and inhibited firefighters from containing the blaze, Bureau of Land Management spokesperson Rachel Carnahan said. By Friday afternoon, it had burned about 13.5 square miles (35 square kilometers) with zero containment, and dark clouds of smoke had settled over the Grand Canyon.

About 500 visitors who planned to stay in the park overnight were evacuated Thursday night, Grand Canyon spokesperson Joëlle Baird said. Employees and residents on the North Rim were told to shelter in place.

Melinda Rich, whose family owns the 102-year-old Jacob Lake Inn known for its homemade cookies, evacuated 75 employees Thursday and guests in about 35 cabins that were rented out at the time.

“It’s tricky for us because we were half booked and now we have to refund all of those things, and that’s a challenge financially for us,” she said. “But you also feel bad for the people who, this might be their first time at the canyon.”

Some guests had just checked in when the inn got a call from the sheriff’s office saying everyone should leave immediately, Rich said. The staff began calling and emailing guests who were out exploring, she said.

Even as smoke rose around them, the evacuation felt precautionary because of the wind direction, Rich said. In 2020, a wildfire came within 20 feet (6 meters) of some cabins.

“We had one of those incredible, miraculous moments, a lot of prayers and then wind adjusted just enough that it passed us by about a mile,” she said.

Associated Press writer Felicia Fonseca contributed reporting from Flagstaff, Arizona.

This photo provided by the National Parks Service shows smoke from wildfires in the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park in Colorado on Thursday, July 10, 2025, after high temperatures, very low humidity, gusty winds, and very dry vegetation across the region led to extreme fire danger. (NPS via AP)

In this photo provided by the National Park Service, smoke from wildfires settles over Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Joelle Baird/Grand Canyon National Park)