Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Official Report 1029KB pdf

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Urgent Question

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Wildfire (Cannich)

First and foremost, on behalf of my colleagues and, I am sure, the whole Parliament, I send our heartfelt sympathies to the firefighters who were injured while responding to the wildfire in Cannich. That is an all-too-stark reminder of the risks that our emergency service men and women take day in, day out to keep us safe. We wish them a speedy recovery.

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce the risk of wildfire in Scotland, in light of reports that an on-going wildfire in Cannich is estimated to become the largest by area on record and that two firefighters were injured while responding to the blaze.

I thank Rachael Hamilton for bringing this important question to the chamber, and I echo her sentiments about the two firefighters. I am pleased to inform Parliament that they have been discharged from hospital, and I thank all the firefighters and others who are tackling the wildfire.

The weather and the condition of vegetation at this time of year lend themselves to fires starting easily and spreading quickly. It is crucial that people act safely and responsibly, because one heat source can cause ignition and, if the wind changes direction, the smallest fire can spread and devastate entire communities, hillsides, livestock, farmland, wildlife, protected woodland and sites of special scientific interest.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service works closely with a number of partners to establish a common understanding of the risk prevention measures and response procedures. Through the Scottish Wildfire Forum, a wildfire danger assessment is carried out regularly when the risk reaches “very high” or “extreme”, and the assessment is shared with key contacts. That information is also used to develop public-facing messaging.

The ability of our emergency service to respond to large-scale wildfires is, I hope, considered by the Scottish Government during every such event. Enabling the service to use all-terrain vehicles in hard-to-reach areas and placing the resources that are available on rural estates on to community asset registers, as is proposed by Scottish Land & Estates, would be important steps. With that in mind, what lessons has the Scottish Government learned from previous wildfires? Has the Scottish Government made any specific investments in relation to those lessons?

The Scottish Government has learned lessons. This is an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, but I have been assured that the service remains fully ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs anywhere across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has continued the commitment to support SFRS service delivery and reform with a further uplift of £10 million resource for 2023-24, which brings the total available budget for the SFRS to £368.1 million for 2023-24. How that budget is spent is up to the SFRS.

I appreciate the minister’s commitment to ensuring that lessons are learned. However, we know that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. We cannot control the weather and clearly no amount of signposting or public awareness will prevent such fires from occurring. However, we can boost wildlife resilience in vulnerable areas. Managing the fuel load on such landscapes protects people, property and habitat, including peatland. The scale of this fire is due in no small part to the fuel load on the land. Therefore, what steps is the Scottish Government taking to ensure that land managers have the tools that they need to manage fuel load and reduce wildfire risks?

I am aware that healthy, wet blanket bog peatland is crucial to mitigating the risk of wildfire. The Scottish Government has set a world-leading target of restoring 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030. Against that target, we have restored more than 65,000 hectares. That commitment will ensure that the recent upward trend in the annual restoration rate continues. When in good condition, peatland can offer multiple benefits and resilience to our environment and our communities.

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park is a significant tourist draw in my constituency. How will the Scottish Government work with partners there to ensure that visitors are aware of wildfire warnings and the steps that they must take to reduce the risk of wildfire?

I thank Evelyn Tweed for that important question. Through the Scottish Wildfire Forum, which the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service chairs, a wildfire danger assessment is carried out every five to seven days by a third-party expert. When the risk of wildfire reaches “very high” or “extreme”, the assessment is circulated across a wide network of key contacts, including those in the public and private sectors, to ensure the widest possible coverage. That information is also used to produce public-facing messaging that the SFRS issues across various media channels to ensure that visitors are aware of wildfire warnings and the steps that they must take to reduce the risks.

Our thoughts, too, are with the firefighters who were injured. We hope that they make a speedy recovery. We also thank all firefighters for putting their lives on the line daily to protect the public.

In Cannich, there are early suggestions that the fire was caused by wild camping. Will the minister look at ways of better educating people on the countryside code when they are enjoying our outdoors?

The minister talked about the risk of wildfire. What work is being carried out to monitor moors and forests, especially when that risk is apparent, to ensure that there are firebreaks and that the risks are mitigated?

I echo Rhoda Grant’s sentiments regarding the firefighters.

I do not have any inside information on how the fire started, but I am happy to look into that to see how we can raise awareness and prevent such fires in the future.

In relation to what we can do, I go back to what I said in response to a previous question. Through the Scottish Wildfire Forum, which the SFRS chairs, a wildfire danger assessment is carried out every five to seven days by a third-party expert. As I said, that assessment is circulated across a wide network of key contacts.

I, too, extend our thoughts to the firefighters and their families.

Unfortunately, the climate crisis means that wildfires such as the dreadful one in Cannich will increasingly occur in Scotland. Evidence from the International Union for Conservation of Nature peatland programme and from ClimateXChange shows that healthy restored peatland can act as a natural firebreak in the landscape. Does the minister agree that further research is needed on that vital topic?

I do. As a result of climate change, there has already been warming in Scotland, with more extreme weather events and rising sea levels. As a nation, we must continue to adapt to those changes and prepare for the impacts of global climate change that are already locked in.