Scotland puts helicopters on standby for wildfire season

Justice secretary Neil Gray announced the arrangement in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 3 September, in a ministerial statement on this summer’s Cairngorms wildfire. Scottish Land & Estates, whose report this week called for guaranteed helicopter availability at times of very high or extreme risk, said the move was a significant and practical step.

Why were land managers calling for helicopter cover?

The Glenmore-Strathnethy fire burned across more than 3,300 hectares of the Cairngorms in July, and the report from Scottish Land & Estates documented the scale of the private response, including nearly £6.4m of privately owned specialist equipment drawn into the response by more than 40 businesses and organisations.

Ross Ewing, director of moorland and strategic projects at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “Recent wildfires have demonstrated the immense speed with which fires can spread across Scotland’s rural landscape. Giving the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service the ability to place helicopters on standby and deploy them immediately will strengthen its response, help protect firefighters and land managers on the ground, and provide a better opportunity to contain fires before they cause widespread devastation.”

Is the standby arrangement permanent?

Not yet. Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates and a member of the Scottish Government’s strategic oversight group for wildfire, said: “Although this arrangement is currently intended to cover the remainder of the wildfire season, it provides a strong foundation on which a permanent and properly resourced national capability should now be built.”

She added that helicopters are not a complete solution: “They are best used in conjunction with a comprehensive, integrated ground response, and Scotland must also invest in prevention, preparedness, local wildfire plans, specialist training and equipment, and responsible vegetation and fuel-load management.”

What happens next?

Helicopters will be held on standby, and mobilised immediately, whenever Scotland’s wildfire danger assessment reaches high, very high or extreme for the remainder of the season. Land managers will keep working with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, government and rural communities on prevention and response, and the wider argument over fuel-load management continues as Scotland’s muirburn licensing scheme begins on 15 September. The full ministerial statement is in the Scottish Parliament’s Official Report for 3 September, linked below.