Latest news with #ScottishGamekeepersAssociation
The Independent
17 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Plane passenger's video captures vast spread of Scottish wildfires
Wildfires have been burning across Scotland 's Dava Moor and the Scottish Highlands for four consecutive days. Aerial footage taken by a plane passenger captured the intense fires, which the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) warns are becoming a danger to human life. The SGA is working "round-the-clock" to combat the fires, noting that firefighters are "stretched" and unable to respond to other incidents. Scottish first minister John Swinney has described the situation as "extremely serious" and urged people to follow all available advice. Watch the video in full above.
The Independent
19 hours ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Aerial footage shows scale of fire on Scotland's Dava Moor
Aerial footage shows raging wildfires across Scotland 's Dava Moor, which has seen intense blazes for four days in a row. A witness who spotted the inferno from a plane above recorded the burning moorlands on Monday (30 June). Fires were first reported on Saturday (28 June), and have since spread across the Scottish Highlands, with the The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), who are working 'round-the-clock' to tackle the blaze, warning that the fires are 'becoming a danger to human life'. The SGA added that 'stretched' firefighters are currently unable to respond to other incidents. Scottish first minister John Swinney said the situation is 'extremely serious' and has urged people to follow all available advice.
Times
a day ago
- General
- Times
Scotland wildfires: lives ‘at risk' as crews fight raging fires
Wildfires are becoming a danger to human life as they leave 'stretched' firefighters unable to attend other incidents, gamekeepers have warned. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) said that a 'round-the-clock effort' from gamekeepers and land managers, working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, helped to prevent two fires from merging into one larger blaze, which would have been a 'nightmare scenario'. The SGA's statement came as a veteran Highlands MSP said the wildfires raging across the area were believed 'by many locals to be the worst in our history'. Fergus Ewing said he had urged the government to convene its emergency response committee, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR). His plea came after gamekeepers from across Scotland joined in efforts on Saturday and Sunday to tackle three wildfires in the Cairngorms National Park. The SGA called on the Scottish government's advisers at NatureScot to visit the sites of these fires to see first-hand their impact and the efforts required to tackle them. It said: 'This is becoming a danger to human life because firefighters are becoming so stretched dealing with wildfires that they don't have the resources to attend other fires. 'We need to have the Scottish government and their advisers out now to see what is happening, while these fires are ongoing.' The association also raised concerns about future controls on muirburn — the controlled burning of vegetation on peatland. Gamekeepers said this practice prevented the build-up of combustible materials, but feared it could be severely restricted in the future. An SGA spokesman said: 'We are about to introduce new legislation in Scotland which will severely restrict controlled muirburning while we are letting huge fuel loads build up across the country in planting schemes and rewilding areas.' He said that muirburn was a way to 'control the fuel' that could burn in wildfires and that this 'allows those fighting the fires to get a chance to catch it'. He added: 'The fire service has been brilliant, working closely with gamekeepers and land managers, allowing them to back-burn to prevent flare-ups. The team-working has been great and the police have really helped. But the fire service can't be everywhere. 'At the moment, with the policies we have in Scotland, we are not protecting anything.' Ewing, the MSP for Inverness & Nairn, said: 'Wildfires presently raging in the Highlands in my constituency and beyond are said by many locals to be the worst in our history.' He urged ministers to convene SGoRR to 'co-ordinate the response to what is beyond question an emergency'. Ewing insisted that monitoring alone was 'not enough', adding that efforts to tackle fires on Sunday had been 'hampered through lack of helicopters'. He said: 'More help is urgently needed. That help must be procured and ordered now without delay. SGoRR should therefore, in my view, be convened without delay.' Firefighters on Monday spent a third day battling three wildfires in the Highlands, in the Nairn, Dava and Lochindorb areas north of Carrbridge, after the alarm was raised on Saturday. Three fire appliances remained at the scene near Lochindorb, where the blaze was nearly four miles long. Two crews were tackling the flames at Dava while a further two were at the scene near Nairn, the SFRS said. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said on Monday night it was in attendance at several wildfire incidents from Carrbridge in Highland to Dallas, outside Forres in Moray. A number of road closures were in place. Area Commander Michael Humphreys, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services wildfire lead, said: 'Due to strong winds, a significant plume of smoke is spreading into nearby residential areas. If you can see the smoke, please make sure your windows and doors are closed.' He appealed to the public not to light fires, stoves or barbecues, adding: 'Leaving litter behind, or dropping cigarettes hugely increases the risk of wildfires. 'I would like to thank all of our firefighters who have attended incidents throughout the area across the weekend and into today.' The Scottish government and NatureScot were contacted for comment.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Firefighters battle wildfires in Scotland for third day amid ‘danger to life' warning
The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) warned that the blazes are limiting the ability of 'stretched' firefighters to respond to other emergencies, so they are 'becoming a danger to human life'. Scotland's fire and rescue service was first alerted to a fire near the village of Carrbridge on Saturday morning. A witness who tried to extinguish the fire told the BBC it started in a ring of stones where a campfire had been lit with camping chairs left behind. Firefighters and the SGA were still battling multiple wildfires in the area on Monday evening, when local residents were directed to close windows and doors to prevent smoke from entering. But the SGA said a 'round-the-clock effort' helped prevent a 'nightmare scenario' where two blazes merge into one larger fire. 'This is becoming a danger to human life because firefighters are becoming so stretched dealing with wildfires that they don't have the resources to attend other fires,' an SGA spokesperson said. 'We need to have the Scottish government and their advisers out now to see what is happening, while these fires are ongoing.' The fire service added that firefighters were working 'tirelessly' to tackle the wildfires from Carrbridge in the Highlands to Dallas village in Moray. It said: 'A significant number of resources and special resources have been mobilised throughout the area.' The blazes come as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued flood alerts for Findhorn, Nairn, Moray, Speyside, Dundee, Angus, Tayside, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City. 'Minor flooding impacts and disruption to travel is possible if the heaviest rain falls in vulnerable areas,' the agency said. Other parts of the UK and continental Europe are experiencing severe heatwaves, with climbing temperatures exacerbated by a heat dome. Scottish politicians sounded the alarm over the extreme weather incidents. First minister John Swinney said on X that the wildfires were 'extremely serious', while MSP for Inverness and Nairn Fergus Ewing added they were 'said by many locals to be the worst in our history'. Mr Ewing said he had already called on the Scottish government to convene its emergency response committee, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGORR). Elsewhere, Moray Scottish Greens councillor Dræyk van der Hørn photographed the wildfires from a summit in the Cairngorms. 'Wildfires in Scotland were once a rarity. Not any more,' he said. 'Hotter, drier springs and summers – driven by the accelerating climate crisis – are turning our landscapes into tinderboxes. 'Fires are now more frequent, more intense and more destructive. This is not a distant warning. ' Climate change is here, and Moray and Scotland are on the frontline.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Scottish firefighters tackle wildfires for third day as risk to life grows
Firefighters battled wildfires in the Scottish Highlands for a third day on Monday in a situation the first minister has called 'extremely serious'. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA), which has helped tackle the blazes, warned the fires are 'becoming a danger to human life' that are leaving 'stretched' firefighters unable to attend other incidents. On Saturday morning, the Scottish fire and rescue service was alerted to a fire near the Highland village of Carrbridge. By Monday evening, the fire service said it was still tackling several wildfire incidents in the area. At 8.40pm on Monday, the fire service urged residents in the vicinity of the fire to 'ensure their windows and doors are closed to prevent smoke from entering'. It said: 'Our firefighters continue to work tirelessly to tackle several wildfire incidents from Carrbridge in Highland to Dallas, outside Forres in Moray. 'A significant number of resources and special resources have been mobilised throughout the area.' A flood alert was issued for some of the affected areas by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which said: 'Minor flooding impacts and disruption to travel is possible if the heaviest rain falls in vulnerable areas.' The SGA said that a 'round-the-clock effort' from gamekeepers and land managers, working with the fire service, helped prevent two fires from merging into one larger blaze – a move that would have been a 'nightmare scenario'. Scottish first minister John Swinney said on X: 'The wildfires that are taking place are extremely serious. Please follow all of the advice available. Grateful to Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and local people for their efforts to get the fires under control. Fergus Ewing, the MSP for Inverness and Nairn constituency, said the wildfires 'raging' across the area were 'said by many locals to be the worst in our history'. He added that he had already urged the Scottish government to convene its emergency response committee – the Scottish government resilience room, known as SGORR. The SGA called on the Scottish government's nature advisers at NatureScot to visit the sites of these blazes to see first-hand their impact and the efforts required to tackle them. Speaking about the blazes, an SGA spokesperson said: 'This is becoming a danger to human life because firefighters are becoming so stretched dealing with wildfires that they don't have the resources to attend other fires.' They insisted: 'We need to have the Scottish government and their advisers out now to see what is happening, while these fires are ongoing.' One witness, who tried to put the initial fire out, told BBC Scotland News that the seat of the wildfire was a ring of stones where a camp fire had been lit and camping chairs had been abandoned. Dræyk van der Hørn, a Scottish Greens councillor for Moray, photographed the wildfires from a summit in the Cairngorms earlier on Monday. He said: 'Wildfires in Scotland were once a rarity. Not any more. 'Hotter, drier springs and summers – driven by the accelerating climate crisis – are turning our landscapes into tinderboxes. 'Fires are now more frequent, more intense and more destructive. This is not a distant warning. 'Climate change is here, and Moray, and Scotland are on the frontline.'
