Helicopters to be put on standby for wildfire risk, says Justice Secretary

Scottish fire and rescue helicopters will be put on standby when there is a heightened risk of wildfires, the Scottish Government has said.

It comes in response to the Cairngorms wildfire, which started in the Glenmore area near Aviemore on July 15 and involved more than 500 firefighters, with crews leaving the scene on August 18.

The wildfire burned across 10 square miles (25 square km) of moorland and forestry.

Justice Secretary Neil Gray said aerial water bombing was a key part of the response to the major blaze.

However, helicopters were not available until around 36 hours after the fire broke out.

Wildfire in the Cairngorms that broke out on June 15, 2026. STV News

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, Gray also called for England, Wales and Northern Ireland to work with Scotland to deal with an “increased risk” of wildfires caused by climate change.

During his speech, he said Scotland’s fire service will now “be in a position to put helicopter resources on standby as soon as the wildfire danger assessment process indicates a need to do so” and would have the ability to “immediately mobilise these assets directly in support of firefighting operations”.

“We are also commencing work immediately to improve aerial support availability, including options for four-nations collaboration and military support.

“There were times during the wildfire when additional aerial water bombing would have been helpful to supplement the resources already being provided by commercial operators under contract.”

The minister said SFRS operational commanders had made it clear helicopters were not a “silver bullet” which immediately extinguished every fire as soon as they were deployed.

Neil Gray has called for four-nation collaboration to tackle wildfires STV News

“This is why we requested military assistance for this specific purpose at the request of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS)”, Gray added.

“Although we had been aware informally that the UK military did not have such assets in the UK, the position we were in was one of exploring every option to put the required support in place.

“I believed then, and I believe now, that it was right to put that request to the UK Government formally to allow them to explore every option for what was possible, including repatriating any assets based overseas.”

The Scottish Government will also push for permanent restrictions on disposable barbecues.

Agriculture minister Jim Fairlie said he would press the UK Government on making the temporary nationwide ban on disposable barbeques permanent, something Mr Gray said he supported.

“This is something I believe needs to be considered on a more permanent basis when there is a risk of wildfires”, he said.

The rural business organisation found more than 3,300 hectares were burned in the Glenmore-Strathnethy wildfire – with more than 40 businesses and organisations and £6.4m of private-sector equipment involved in the response efforts.

The report for the Scottish Government found more than 300 days of volunteering work were recorded to tackle the wildfire as SLE is calling for an urgent shift from ad hoc assistance to a formal, exercised wildfire capability system.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “When the request for assistance was received, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Defence Secretary worked at speed to identify options for assistance, including deploying Chinook helicopters, enhanced liaison support and support from UK stand-by battalions.

“The Scottish Government was made aware of the assistance available and decided not to accept.”