For nearly two days, the flames tearing through the Cairngorms had free rein. The wildfire, which started near Ryvoan Bothy south of Nethy Bridge last Wednesday, was allowed to torch the landscape around Glenmore Forest Park before the specialist helicopters arrived. By the time the aircraft began waterbombing, local frustration had already boiled over.
Two helicopters have been described as "invaluable" by the Cairngorms National Park Authority, reaching hard-to-access areas and dropping tonnes of water. But the delay in their arrival has left some residents convinced the blaze could have been brought under control sooner if air support had been called in earlier.
“Cairngorms wildfire reaches seventh day as helicopters arrived two days late, sparking questions over Scotland's aerial firefighting capacity.”
The blaze has now entered its seventh day. More than 100 firefighters have been involved, backed by gamekeepers, estate workers and volunteers from neighbouring estates. By the weekend, the response was scaled up to include six fire engines, two all-terrain vehicles, a Wildfire Support Unit and the two helicopters.
Unlike the rest of those resources, however, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has no direct access to firefighting helicopters. Only a small number of private companies own the specialist aircraft and employ pilots skilled enough to fight fires. To bring them in, the fire service incident commander must approve the request — and the landowner must have contractual arrangements in place to cover the costs.
On private land, that can mean negotiations with insurance companies over whether a helicopter is necessary and whether the policy will pay. On public land, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland or NatureScot, the cost comes out of the agency's own funds. The SFRS says any request for helicopter support is a "multi-agency decision" left to the "discretion of the incident commander" and their professional assessment of the fire.
RSPB Scotland described the arrival of a helicopter at its Loch Garten reserve in the Cairngorms last week as a "game changer". The official line from the SFRS is that the Cairngorms wildfire has been "appropriately resourced" from the start.
The question now is whether Scotland's firefighters have the aerial resources they need to tackle a growing threat. With wildfires becoming more frequent and intense, the gap between ground crews and the reach of helicopter support may widen — unless the system for calling them in can move faster than the flames.