Cairngorms Wildfire: Worst Ever, Decades to Recover
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Cairngorms national park is enduring its worst-ever wildfire 12 days in, with damage expected to take decades to repair, according to chief executive Grant Moir.
- Caledonian pinewood forest containing 300-year-old Scots pines has been partially consumed, though most older forest was saved by fire breaks bulldozed in the early days of the blaze.
- Three private helicopters are being contracted to drop approximately 750,000 litres of water daily on hotspots, as Scotland has no publicly available specialist firefighting aircraft.
- Smaller mammals, lizards, insects, and ground-nesting birds perished in the fire while larger animals like deer escaped, according to Forestry and Land Scotland planning manager Ian Allsopp.
- Nethy Bridge village was evacuated Friday night after strong winds fanned the flames, though Police Scotland said Saturday the fire was no longer being treated as a major incident.
- The Scottish Green party on Monday called for publicly available firefighting aircraft during wildfire season, after the UK government offered military support but confirmed it had no specialist helicopters.
- More than 75 firefighters remained on scene as of Sunday, with light rain slowing the fire but officials warning that more dry weather is forecast.
Why it matters: The fire exposes Scotland's lack of dedicated firefighting aviation — the UK government had no specialist helicopters to offer, forcing reliance on three private contractors. Loss of 300-year-old Caledonian pinewood is effectively irreversible on human timescales, and the Scottish Greens are now pushing for permanent aerial firefighting capacity.
