Wildfire prevention

The vast majority of wildfires in Scotland are caused - usually accidentally - by people who don't realise just how easy it is for a rogue campfire ember or dropped cigarette to develop into something bigger.

The social and economic impacts of wildfire can be considerable. It can take a large number of firefighters many days to bring a moorland or forest fire under control, reducing their availability to deal with house fires, traffic collisions and other life-threatening situations. This can be even more pronounced in many of the rural areas that we manage where fire crews rely on retained staff from local communities.

In 2023, wildfires burned the equivalent of 534 football pitches of our ground and over 1,400 of ground of our neighbours. The massive fire at Cannich, in addition to damaging large areas of nature-reserve and woodland, cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds to help control and burned for months.

A natural environment for wildfires

Wildfires are generally more likely to start and spread on grassland or moorland in the UK, meaning they can be particularly damaging to open habitats and recreational sites. But Scotland’s forests are among the most productive in Europe, providing an abundance of potential fuel for wildfires.

As well as the potentially negative effect on wildlife habitats, wildfires can burn valuable carbon stores (trees and peatland), releasing greenhouse gases back into the atmosphere. The damage to peatland is of particular environmental concern given the long timeframes it takes to recover. We also manage areas of native Caledonian pinewood and fire damage to these precious remnants would be irreparable. 

Our prevention work

Building resilience to help shape forests that can adapt to future challenges in a key part of the long term planning of Scotland's forests and land. Wildfire mitigation is considered alongside a broader range of resilience objectives, including climate adaptation, biodiversity, water management, soil carbon, and the management of pests and diseases.  

Our wildfire management approach

We work closely with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to ensure a safe and consistent approach to help tackle wildfires on Scotland’s national forests and land. The health and safety of our staff is of utmost importance and our procedures and guidance reflect this. To further our approach we have created an internal Wildfire Management Group who support, monitor, and regularly review our stance.

The information below outlines the roles and responsibilities of our staff alongside SFRS. We will update this information over time to reflect progress and any changes made by the Wildfire Management Group.

Forestry and Land Scotland Wildfire Support: roles and responsibilities

Our staff are not firefighters. However, as our resources allow, we will support SFRS in tackling wildfires that threaten Scotland’s national forests and land.

We will support SFRS in their lead role for fire prevention and suppression through:

• creating annual fire plans that meet the needs of both organisations
• providing standard procedures for those in wildfire management duties
• providing extra support to SFRS such as helicopter use, local knowledge, and site access

We will work with SFRS within their distinct remits. SFRS have specialist staff and equipment for containment of wildfires as well as responsibility for keeping everyone safe.

We will:

• make our staff’s health, safety and wellbeing a priority
• actively manage our response to wildfires to avoid excessive risks
• work as a team and support each other
• take time to assess situations before proceeding
• take appropriate action to support and liaise with SFRS
• undertake risk assessments prior to commencing any tasks

We can’t:

• provide an emergency service
• actively suppress fires, including damping down
• expect staff to take on any task that they have not been trained for

What can you do to help?

All it takes is a little care to prevent a wildfire. Remember our fire safety tips: