Climate change is real but there is no need for hysteria about the wildfire risk to Scotland
Image - abc13 Eyewitness News, California USA, January 2025 May 2023, Cannich, Highlands, Pic: Balintore Fire Station/SFRS From BBC Scotland two days ago, the above and: A devastating wildfire burning in the Cairngorms has entered its seventh day, as helicopters battle to stop the spread of the flames. Two specialist helicopters have been "invaluable" for…
Image – abc13 Eyewitness News, California USA, January 2025May 2023, Cannich, Highlands, Pic: Balintore Fire Station/SFRSFromBBC Scotlandtwo days ago, the above and:Adevastatingwildfire burning in the Cairngorms has entered its seventh day, as helicopters battle to stop the spread of the flames. Two specialist helicopters have been “invaluable” for waterbombing hard-to-reach areas, the Cairngorms National Park Authority says. But the flames were allowed to torch the landscape for nearly two days before they arrived on the scene around Glenmore Forest Park. There’s been vocal frustrationfrom some local people, who believe the wildfire might have been brought under control if specialist air support had been called in sooner. Why the delay? Do Scotland’s firefighters have the aerial resources they need to tackle the growing threat of wildfires?The official linefrom the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is that the Cairngorms wildfire has been “appropriately resourced” from the start, withmore than 100 firefightersinvolved. Just two years ago, firefighters from across the world, including wildfire hotspots like Australia, Portugal and Spain, gathered in Aberdeen for a conference to share the knowledge and techniques. As part of that event, a helicopter was brought in to demonstrate close-up some of the methods used to dowse fires from the sky. This was seen as particularly important and helpful tocountries like Scotland, where the wildfire risk has been increasing with climate change. 1This media ‘wildfire’ is getting out-of-hand. Devastating?The fires affected 27 000 acres with ‘more than 100 firefighters involved. In the North-western US states on Oregon and Washington 10 000 firefighters are tackling fires across 700 000 acres. 2One hundred times as many firefighters, twenty-six times the area burned but only around twice the population of Scotland (5. 5m to 12m). I am by no means a climate change denier but the notion that Scotland now has a comparable wildfire risk to most other parts of the world is just hysterical. Sources:https://www. bbc. co. uk/news/articles/cy8enzjdz0qohttps://eu. registerguard. com/story/news/wildfires/2026/07/21/dozens-of-wildfires-burning-in-oregon/90995365007/What has the trend been since 2 000 in terms of number of incidents and area damaged? Based on an Scottish Fire Service records:Not conclusive without the last 5 years data but by no means suggesting a situation worthy of panic. Sources:https://www. firescotland. gov. uk/news/new-collaborative-action-plan-unveiled-to-protect-scotland-from-increasing-wildfire-risk/https://www. gov. scot/publications/provision-analyses-scottish-fire-rescue-service-sfrs-incident-reporting-system-irs-data-relation-wildfire-incidents/pages/6/Discover more from The 'Unstoppable' Talking-up ScotlandSubscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.