This year has by far been the worst year in reported incidents of wildfires in Scotland in terms of the total area burned and the intensity of major incidents. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) recorded a total of 241 wildfire incidents in 2025. With a sharp spike in activity in April, with 109 wildfires recorded in that month alone. The fires between 28 June and 2 July were described as the largest in living memory, with flame lengths reaching 20m and jumping up to 750m.
In Mr Fairlie’s recent ministerial statement on wildfires, he expressed his support for the volunteers that helped in the numerous wildfire incidents in 2025:
“Land managers and gamekeepers are on the front line of wildfire prevention and response. We owe them a debt of gratitude for the valuable role that they have always played in controlling wildfires.
“Controlled burning, when done responsibly, plays a vital role in creating firebreaks and reducing fuel loads”.
The Scottish Countryside Alliance have summarised the key themes and actions discussed during the recent Wildfire Summit.
Key themes and actions:
Wildfire prevention must be prioritised
- Develop a Scotland-specific fire risk model by integrating wildfire layers into the SFRS’s Community Risk Index (CRI) Model.
- Reduce the risk of wildfire through effective landowner management plans.
- Evaluate the unintended consequences of alternative land management practices that may increase fire risk. (E.g. reduced livestock grazing, restrictions in muirburn, large-scale woodland schemes with no natural fire breaks, etc.)
Improvements are needed in communication during wildfire events
- Set-up a wildfire warning system, similar to flood and storm alerts.
- Explore a national campaign, tailored to different audiences.
A gap in multi-agency preparedness and training was identified
- Explore a mountain rescue-style voluntary response model, with trained wildfire wardens to support local efforts.
- The Community Asset Register remains a vital tool to empower communities and volunteers. The Scottish Government will look into what is required to expand its use and overcome barriers to adding new assets and volunteers.
Reviewing tactical aerial support access protocols
- Explore the potential for a central budget, contractual arrangements and a trump card approach to ensure that public sector needs are prioritised.
- Look at insurance from estates and landowners that can engage emergency aerial support to fight wildfires.
What the Scottish Government proposes:
Enhance co-ordination across agencies
- A shared concept of operations will be developed to clarify roles and responsibilities across agencies, supported by the Scottish Government resilience room, local resilience partnerships and regional resilience partnerships.
- A package of measures will be put in place to build into the system a resilience that will ensure that every part of the country has the protection that it needs.
Review legislation
- New byelaws have recently been put in place in the Cairngorms National Park that will prohibit outdoor fires and barbecues within the park annually between April and September (camping stoves and barbecues will continue to be allowed).
- This review may include national byelaws and fire-related product restrictions nationwide.
- The potential banning of disposable barbecues nationwide, or at least in more vulnerable areas where there is woodland, peat or a greater likelihood for fire to damage agricultural and other rural businesses.
What the Scottish Government has done so far:
- The Scottish Government has increased the SFRS’s annual budget to £412.2 million for 2026, which is an increase of more than £19 million since 2017.
- The SFRS has invested £1.6 million in wildfire response assets, including personal protective equipment, all-terrain vehicles, fogging units and drones.
- The Scottish Government provided grant funding of up to £10,000 through the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) to replace equipment damaged or destroyed in recent wildfire incidents.
Many critics argue that the Scottish Government has not done enough to help alleviate the risk of wildfire events in Scotland. It is vital that wildfire mitigation actions are put in place as quickly as possible before the start of the 2026 wildfire season, which typically starts around the beginning of March.
The July 2025, the Dava wildfire near Carrbridge illustrates the immense and destructive force of such events. The fire alone was responsible for an estimated 590,000 tonnes of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. By comparison, all 2025 peatland restoration projects in Scotland—covering 14,860 hectares—only accounted for a 282,000-tonne reduction in carbon emissions. The incident underscores how quickly a single disaster can undo months of dedicated project work.
MSPs met at a roundtable discussion group on 18 November, hosted by Jim Fairlie, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, to share their views on the Scottish Governments proposals following on from the recent Wildfire Summit. We will shortly update all our members and followers with any news from this meeting.