Latest news with #NiallMacLennan
The National
5 days ago
- Climate
- The National
Extreme wildfire alert across parts of Scotland this weekend
The alert was issued by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and is in effect from Friday until Monday. Communities across the east of Scotland and Shetland are more likely to be at risk of wildfires on Friday. READ MORE: Scottish Tories call for police officers to be banned from Pride events By Saturday and Sunday, the main areas at risk of wildfires are in and around Moray. Wildfires have the potential to burn for days and cause devastation to wildlife and land, as well as having knock-on effects for nearby communities. The SFRS urged people in these areas to avoid the use of naked flames outdoors, including the use of barbecues. SFRS group commander Niall MacLennan said: "We know that people acting responsibly outdoors can significantly lower the chance of a wildfire starting. "That's why we're urging people within these areas to absolutely avoid the use of naked flames, including barbecues, at this time. "It only takes one spark to start a wildfire and things can get out of hand very, very quickly. "Discarded cigarettes and unsupervised campfires pose a significant threat, so it's vital to follow all safety advice when outdoors and to make sure you are familiar with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code at all times." READ MORE: Activist slams 'draconian' law as protester arrested at Palestine Action demo The SFRS said that remote and rural communities are most at risk of wildfires. MacLennan added: "Many rural and remote communities are hugely impacted by wildfires, which can cause significant damage. "Livestock, farmland, wildlife, protected woodland and sites of special scientific interest can all be devastated by these fires - as can the lives of people living and working in rural communities. "These fires can also have a hugely negative impact on the environment and the release of air polluting gases into the atmosphere." An extreme alert was also in place last weekend, as Scotland experienced a heatwave with temperatures reaching as high as 32C. A wildfire which broke out in Perth last Friday raged for two days, with six fire appliances sent to the scene.
The Herald Scotland
22-05-2025
- Climate
- The Herald Scotland
Is Scotland's future on fire - and how can we stop it?
Is there any realistic chance of stopping them or is this what Scotland's future holds? This week Culbin forest near Forres has been alight; a month ago it was Glen Rosa on Arran; a week prior to that it was Galloway. By the end of April, more of the UK had been burnt by wildfires than the total for any year in more than a decade, according to the Global Wildfire Information System. The impacts on wildlife and cost to landowners can be pretty devastating. 'We've lost 10 years of conservation work and effort,' said one Arran ranger in the wake of the Glen Rosa fire. 'We just have to start again.' Read More: True, it's been an unusually dry spring, but the worrying long-term Scottish trend is for more intense, harder-to-handle fires that often begin on moorland and spread into forests. California suffered a deep collective trauma in January when a series of huge blazes broke out due to a combination of conditions – a period of high rainfall promoting vegetation growth, followed by drought, followed by high winds. At least 30 people died and more than 18,000 homes were destroyed. Scotland may not be a high hazard location for destructive wildfires like the western US, but the so-called 'hydroclimate whiplash' effect – a wet period followed by an intense dry period – is being more frequently observed in locations around the world including Scotland, creating the conditions for more frequent and troublesome wildfires. So do we just have to endure them? Yes and no, is the somewhat sad reality. Wildfires will continue and worsen, say the researchers, but we can manage them better. 'As long as climate change keeps happening, this effect keeps increasing,' says Theo Keeping of Reading University, an expert in wildfire risk modelling. The old postcard on the difference between Scotland's winter and summer weather, showing a rain-lashed figure cowering under an umbrella in both cases, once seemed to represent Scotland's best protection against wildfires: near-constant rain. That has changed. With a warming atmosphere able to absorb ever more moisture from the land, we still get plenty of rain, but in between times we are seeing longer settled spells when the ground is sucked dry of moisture. Scotland has started experiencing wildfires in areas which were not traditionally susceptible to them, and instead of being contained in spring, devouring dead vegetation leftover from the previous year, wildfires are occurring into summer and even late summer. 'They're certainly becoming more difficult to suppress and tend to have higher fuel loads – the amount of vegetation available for burning – which gives them greater intensity,' says Group Commander Niall MacLennan of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), based in Inverness. Heather that's above knee height, for instance, contains a lot of energy. Land management is part of the wildfire risk, says the SFRS. Changes to the way farms and estates use land, particularly where vegetation increases as a result, can have an impact. So can't fires be prevented in the first place? Some but not all. That would require a policy that is literally foolproof and no one has come up with one yet. Social media right now is full of pleas from rangers begging people not to flick away fag ends, light campfires and BBQs or leave glass bottles around that could magnify the sun (thought to be the cause of Glen Rosa's fire). Yet it's also full of exasperated posts from people who have found smouldering campfires set on tinder-dry moorland or under trees among dessicated pine needles. Clearly either the message isn't getting through, or some people are deliberately ignoring it. Probably both. Education is still crucial and there's more focus on it in Scotland than ever before. In other countries, like Portugal, it's helped reduce the number of fires. But as Keeping says 'it's almost impossible' to exclude all ignitions. That's why much effort has focused on finding ways of containing fires and putting them out pronto. Regenerating landscapes to better retain water; creating fire breaks (where vegetation is burnt or cut away); giving greater consideration to what we grow and where; creating lochans as water sources for firefighters: strategies such as this will just become more and more important. The Scottish Parliament has just passed legislation requiring anyone using 'prescribed burning', for firebreaks or muirburn, to hold a license and have training. Evacuation plans also have to be up to date in case of wildfires getting out of control. At the edge of towns and villages, householders might have to start giving more attention to reducing fire risk. MacLennan says he is concerned when he sees large-scale vegetation like gorse close to houses in rural areas because of the real risk the buildings could catch fire. If we can't stop fires igniting, we need to be able to extinguish them quickly. SFRS is focusing on a 'smarter' strategy for tackling wildfires, with specially trained firefighters in certain fire stations equipped with specific PPE and equipment, to manage and suppress fires in an agile way. A helicopter, like that used over Culbin forest, might deposit around 800litres of water over the fires – about eight baths-worth – which is highly effective. Civilian helicopters aren't always available for these operations though. Even ground vehicles suitable for the local terrain can be hard to come by and sometimes firefighters still have to walk to fire sites dressed in PPE and carrying water. That's one way land managers and locals can help out, offering lifts and vehicles. And perhaps that's the point: that we all have a role to play in this – individuals, government, fire service and communities. More intense wildfires, a consequences of unchecked climate change, are part of our collective future. It looks like it will take a collective effort to fight them. Rebecca McQuillan is a journalist specialising in politics and Scottish affairs. She can be found on Bluesky at @ and on X at @BecMcQ
