Land managers urge action after UK's first 'megafire'

The UK is not prepared for the rising threat of major wildfires and must put farmers and land managers at the centre of prevention, Scottish Land & Estates has warned.

The rural business organisation said public policy had failed to keep pace with the risk of larger, more intense and more frequent wildfires.

It has called for an Integrated Fire Management Strategy covering the whole of the UK.

SLE said any national plan should include wildfire preparation, fuel load reduction, funding, operational planning and recovery.

The warning comes after last year’s Carrbridge and Dava wildfires in Strathspey burned an estimated 29,225 acres.

SLE said this was equivalent to the amount of land typically burned across the whole UK in an entire year.

An international team of researchers has since classified the event as the UK’s first “megafire”.

The researchers also reported that the blaze released carbon equivalent to 85% of the average annual emissions from UK fires between 2001 and 2021.

Large wildfires can damage habitats, release stored carbon, threaten rural communities and place pressure on emergency services.

SLE said the growing risk meant wildfire could no longer be seen only as a fire service issue.

The organisation made the comments in its response to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s call for evidence on wildfire risk.

Ross Ewing, director of moorland and strategic projects at SLE, said: “As our climate changes, wildfire can no longer be treated as an isolated issue, which UK fire services can manage on their own.”

He said wildfire was a land management, climate resilience, public safety and rural economy issue.

Mr Ewing added that it required “a stronger national response rooted in prevention as well as response”.

SLE said practical land management measures should be central to reducing wildfire risk.

These include muirburn, vegetation cutting, livestock grazing and coordination between neighbouring landholdings.

The organisation said grazing by livestock could help manage vegetation and reduce the build-up of fuel in vulnerable landscapes.

Mr Ewing said one lesson from the Carrbridge and Dava fire was that containment could be faster and more effective where fuel loads were managed and land managers were organised at landscape scale.

SLE pointed to the Scottish Government’s Strategic Action Plan for Wildfires as a positive example of the type of coordinated approach needed across the UK.

It said any UK-wide plan should bring together prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

The organisation also called for stronger partnership working and locally responsive funding schemes, particularly in remote areas and for smaller landholders.

Mr Ewing said: “Targeted grants and cost-sharing would enable smaller landholders to invest in equipment, training and restoration.”

He said SLE’s report on the Carrbridge and Dava wildfire recommended formalising local networks and funding arrangements to improve access to vital equipment.

A £10,000 fund was established by the Cairngorms National Park Authority and administered by SLE following the Carrbridge and Dava fire.

The fund helped contribute towards the cost of damaged and broken equipment for those affected by the wildfire.

SLE said wildfire policy should prioritise fuel load reduction as a central mitigation strategy.

It said this should include support for muirburn, mechanical cutting and grazing.

The organisation also warned that Scotland’s incoming muirburn licensing framework, due to come into force this autumn, could make it harder to manage fuel loads if it restricts practical prevention work.

SLE said this could weaken both wildfire prevention and operational suppression.

Mr Ewing said: “Future policy must strike a workable balance between environmental objectives and the practical need to maintain resilient landscapes that are less vulnerable to severe wildfire events.”

Earlier this year, the UK’s Regional Moorland Groups formed a Wildfire Commission to examine how practical fuel load management should be delivered across upland landscapes.

Its first meeting was attended by UK academics, firefighters and land managers.

The commission will look at how wildfire fuel load management can be carried out effectively and at scale.