Rural businesses praised for ‘extraordinary’ help with wildfires, report says

A report has praised rural businesses for their involvement in tackling the recent spate of large wildfires that have devastated parts of Scotland’s countryside.

Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) published the report on Thursday, which examines the wildfires near Carrbridge and Dava in the Scottish Highlands.

The report says 11,827 hectares of moorland were ravaged by the fires in late June.

Prepared at the request of Scottish Government officials, the report says extensive resources, manpower and expertise were contributed by at least 33 businesses, including 27 estates.

The collective value of specialist firefighting equipment deployed by private land managers is conservatively estimated at £3.1m, with more than 100 employees engaged in the containment effort.

Ross Ewing, director of moorland at SLE, said: “The Carrbridge and Dava wildfires represent the largest such event in Scotland’s history and without the extraordinary intervention of rural businesses, the scale of devastation would have been even greater.

“These land managers brought not only equipment and personnel, but also essential knowledge of the terrain and fire behaviour, much of it honed through generations of safe muirburn practice. Their contribution should be commended, supported and learned from.”

The report also says there are gaps in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) wildfire response capability, and makes a series of recommendations.

They include investment in a fleet of at least 50 SFRS all-terrain vehicles equipped with fogging units, enhanced authority for SFRS commanders to deploy aerial support quickly, urgent improvements in wildfire training and communications for frontline crews, and the establishment of a Scotland-wide integrated fire management strategy.

The report also highlights that the licensing framework for muirburn, as introduced through the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act 2024, could reduce the ability of land managers to conduct fuel load management – a key factor in wildfire prevention.

Mr Ewing said: “If we make it harder for skilled land managers to carry out preventative muirburn, we risk losing the very infrastructure and capability that helped contain these fires.

“Under the recent legislation, there is a ‘necessity’ test regarding use of muirburn on peatland, and a presumption in favour of other vegetation control methods.

“By amending this to an appropriateness test, it would allow this vital practice of muirburn to be carried out more freely while simultaneously retaining licensed regulatory oversight by government agencies.”

Mr Ewing added: “The Scottish Government must treat these wildfires as a watershed moment.

“That means urgent investment in firefighting infrastructure, better co-ordination between public agencies and rural communities, and a policy environment that empowers land managers, rather than penalising them, for playing their part.

“Without the courage and commitment of those who stepped up during this crisis, the outcome would have been far worse. We owe them our thanks and we owe them action.”

Agriculture and connectivity minister Jim Fairlie said: “We fully understand the concerns over wildfires. Keepers were a massive help to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in bringing the recent wildfires under control, and we know estates used their own equipment to help in those efforts.

“That practical help and experience is greatly appreciated by the Scottish Government, as are the views of the wider stakeholder groups who helped to inform our policy decisions as we progressed the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024.

“During the passage of that Act, we recognised the importance of muirburn in creating firebreaks to help tackle wildfires in some circumstances and the new muirburn licensing scheme allows muirburn for that purpose.

“The Scottish Government is working with SFRS to support full implementation of its wildfire strategy, which will see the continued rollout this year of new equipment, vehicles and personal protective equipment.

“I am grateful to SFRS, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, and others for their outstanding efforts to keep property and people safe and for taking the time to meet with me this week to reflect on lessons we can learn for future incidents.”

SFRS was approached for comment.