The Scottish Government has declared that climate change – not changes to land management – is driving Scotland’s growing wildfire crisis, setting up a direct clash with farmers who argue reduced grazing livestock and tighter controls on muirburn are leaving the nation’s hills more vulnerable to devastating fires.
As firefighters continue battling the Glenmore–Strath Nethy wildfire, the Scottish Government insists climate change is the principal cause of increasing wildfire incidents. However, Scotland’s sheep farmers are urging ministers to reconsider policies they believe have reduced active land management and allowed combustible vegetation to build up across upland landscapes.
More than two weeks after the fire began near Glenmore on July 15, the blaze continues to smoulder across around 25–30 square kilometres of peatland and woodland in the Cairngorms.
Around 70 firefighters and nine appliances remain involved in the operation, with helicopters and drones continuing to target hotspots and support efforts to prevent further spread.
Nethy Bridge Community Council chair Sandy McCook said the continuing rain 'will undoubtedly make a huge difference to the firefighting effort', although smoke continues to linger over the area and residents remain advised to avoid Glenmore, Abernethy and Loch Morlich. Large areas of peat are still burning below the surface, with crews working alongside aircraft and heavy machinery in difficult terrain.
Major incident response
Police Scotland declared a major incident on July 24, triggering a multi-agency response and an offer of military support from the UK Government.
Justice secretary Neil Gray defended the decision not to accept UK military helicopters, saying the operational requirement was for specialist water-bombing aircraft and that firefighters on the ground had the resources required.
Gray said early indications suggested the blaze may have been linked to human activity and that the Scottish Government would review its approach to wildfire response after the incident.
McCook accused the Scottish Government of ‘dithering’ in its response, telling BBC Radio Scotland that declining the UK Government’s assistance was ‘churlish in the extreme’.
“I’m very disappointed in the Scottish Government’s response in general,” he said. “Had we asked for UK resources a week ago, when this fire was clearly running away from the fire service, regardless of what was said by Neil Gray, we wouldn’t still be here fighting it now.
“When this fire was discovered, it was described by the person who reported it as the size of a small car. We’re now up to 30 square kilometres of some of Scotland’s most beautiful, pristine landscapes, hugely important conservation areas, burnt to a crisp, still smouldering and still burning.”
Farmers call for rethink on land management
As the fire continues to burn, NSA Scotland has called on ministers to look beyond the emergency response and examine whether changes to upland land management have increased wildfire risk.
In a letter to the Scottish Government, NSA Scotland chairman Alec Telfer called for an evidence-based review of policies affecting grazing livestock and muirburn, arguing that both have an important role in reducing the build-up of combustible vegetation.
He said many sheep farmers had become increasingly concerned that environmental policies had led to reduced grazing on some hill ground, allowing grasses, heather and other vegetation to accumulate.
“While these decisions have often been taken with environmental objectives in mind, it is important to recognise the practical contribution that sheep make in reducing fuel loads by grazing grasses and other vegetation that can otherwise accumulate and increase wildfire risk,” he wrote.
Telfer also argued that controlled muirburn remains an important land management tool when carried out by experienced practitioners and warned that Scotland’s new muirburn licensing regime could unintentionally discourage responsible burning.
NSA Scotland has asked ministers to delay implementation of the legislation while its practical implications are reassessed in light of the recent wildfires.
The organisation has also questioned requirements for mandatory training, saying experienced land managers could face unnecessary costs and bureaucracy despite decades of practical knowledge.
According to the NSA, this risks reducing the amount of preventative muirburn undertaken and could allow greater fuel loads to build up on Scotland’s hills.
The organisation also highlighted what it described as wider public benefits from maintaining sheep numbers, arguing that well-managed flocks have historically helped reduce tick populations and the spread of tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.
Telfer said the experience of farmers, shepherds and other land managers should play a central role in future discussions about wildfire prevention.
Government rejects land management claims
However, the Scottish Government said increasing wildfire incidence was not being driven by changes to land management.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government’s immediate priority is to assist the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and local partners in the Cairngorms National Park in tackling the fire.
“The Cairngorms National Park Integrated Wildfire Management Plan is the first of its kind in the UK, setting out recommended actions on key issues such as creating firebreaks and managing fuel load.
“Increasing wildfire incidence in Scotland, and elsewhere, is driven by climate change rather than changes to land management. It is for the relevant land manager to decide how best to mitigate wildfire risk on their land, but this will often require a combination of techniques, which may include cattle grazing alongside cutting or burning.
“Cattle are important large herbivores that provide a range of benefits for managing Scotland’s landscape, including reducing fuel loads, supporting biodiversity and food production. This is why the Scottish Government is working with farmers and crofters, through the agricultural reform programme, to improve how we support our agriculture community to manage land for all these objectives.”
The exchange exposes a growing divide over how Scotland should respond to increasingly severe wildfires.
While ministers argue climate change is the overriding driver behind more frequent wildfire events, farming organisations believe greater recognition should be given to the role active land management – including grazing livestock and controlled muirburn – can play in reducing combustible vegetation before fires take hold.
Funding and future demands
The scale of the incident has nevertheless renewed debate about how prepared Scotland is for increasingly challenging wildfire conditions.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has warned it must deliver significant savings over the next four years under current spending plans while also consulting on changes to its service model.
Although SFRS’s budget has increased in cash terms in recent years, unions and some politicians argue funding has failed to keep pace with inflation, rising operational pressures and the changing nature of emergencies. The Fire Brigades Union has warned of a long-term reduction in firefighter numbers and says savings have reduced resilience across communities.
For communities watching the Cairngorms blaze, the question is no longer simply whether Scotland has enough firefighters to respond to major wildfires, but whether enough is being done to reduce the likelihood of such fires occurring in the first place.
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