I'm in the New Forest, which is where the disease was first identified in the UK about 5 years ago, when a small cluster of cases occurred within a few weeks. Because I walk my dogs in the Forest every day I've followed what's happened since then.
This is an extremely rare disease, a fact often forgotten because of the way the press tend to cover it, sometimes sensationalising it. In the 5+ years since it was first identified there has been around 100 confirmed cases in a dog population of more than 8 million. That makes the chances of any one dog contracting it so miniscule that I'm not sure I can do the math to calculate it. A dog is more likely to die of pretty much anything else you can think of than of Alabama Rot.
I'm not belittling the seriousness of it in any way. Just trying to give it some perspective. When it was first identified in the New Forest I learned the symptoms of it and then put it firmly to the back of my mind, knowing how rare it is. Two of the New Forest cases have been in areas where I regularly walk. One was a young Labrador, who recovered, either in spring 2017 or 2016. The other was a dog that sadly died, about two or three years ago.
I don't take any precautions beyond avoiding heavily wooded areas (which is quite easy to do in the New Forest) between about November and May, and rinsing paws off if they're muddy. There's actually no evidence to confirm, or not, that paw washing may help prevent it.
One of the many things not known about it is if it's an emerging disease, or if it's been around for a long time but hadn't been identified until the cluster of cases in the NF prompted investigation. So it's quite possible that the disease has been in the UK for a long time but never identified because of it's rarity. Deaths may have been attributed to other causes or simply recorded as cause not known.
So even though it's worrying when you hear of a case not far from home, please don't worry unduly. Learn the symptoms and if you want to avoid woodland or a localised area where there's been a confirmed case, and wash paws after walks, then do so. But please try not to build it up into a major worry.