First Minister of Scotland John Swinney has requested military aerial support from the UK Government to help tackle the Cairngorms wildfire, now in its 11th day, as a major incident remains in place and residents are evacuated from Nethy Bridge.
The Scottish Government has asked the UK Government for military assistance to help fight the wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park, First Minister John Swinney stated.
The request was made following a further meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room on Saturday, chaired by Swinney.
The First Minister said:
“The latest update I received on the situation in the Cairngorms shows an improved picture, however, as we have already seen, events can change very quickly due to the weather conditions. I would like to again thank the fire service, police and local partners for their efforts. This remains a major and serious incident, so it is still extremely important that people follow the advice of emergency services and the Cairngorms National Park – it is essential people avoid the affected areas for safety reasons and to allow responders to focus on tackling the wildfire.
A request has been made today to the UK Government for military assistance in aerial support that can be used to supplement existing resources that are being deployed to tackle the Cairngorms wildfire and we await a response.”
The meeting was also attended by Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, Justice Secretary Neil Gray, Net Zero Secretary Gillian Martin and Transport Secretary Stephen Flynn, alongside representatives from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, Highland Council and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. The fire service reported positive progress in tackling the blaze while continuing to take preventative measures to stop its spread, with air support being prioritised for the areas where it is of most benefit.
Swinney said the latest update showed an improved picture, but cautioned that conditions could change quickly. He said the situation remained a major and serious incident, and that it was essential people avoid the affected areas for safety reasons and to allow responders to focus on tackling the wildfire.
The fire broke out on Wednesday 15 July and the battle to control it is now into its 11th day. A sudden shift in weather bringing stronger winds has caused unpredictable flare-ups, pushing the fire towards properties and woodland in Strathnethy, home to around 600 residents. A major incident was declared and many residents were evacuated from Nethy Bridge overnight because of the danger from flames heading in their direction.
According to local reporting, the first calls for military airborne assistance were made to the Scottish Government by community leaders in Badenoch and Strathspey within 48 hours of the outbreak, with the formal request now coming days later. A response from the UK Government is awaited.
Requests of this kind are made under Military Aid to the Civil Authorities, the standing arrangement through which the armed forces can be called on to support civilian responders during emergencies when the required capability is not otherwise available. Aerial firefighting support typically involves helicopters fitted with underslung buckets to drop water on terrain that ground crews cannot easily reach, a capability that has been provided to wildfire and flooding responses in the UK before.
Image Tim Williams, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
It might be worth getting an A400m firefighting kit.