Justice Secretary Neil Gray has said the emergency services in the Cairngorms had “all resources necessary” to tackle wildfires, as the Scottish Government faced backlash over its response. He added that the government would be “reviewing” its response to wildfires.
UK Government offers military support
Gray’s comments come after the UK Government offered military support following a request by him. Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander told Gray that specialist resources, including Chinook helicopters for logistical and heavy-lift capacity and support from UK stand-by battalions, would be made available upon request.
However, First Minister John Swinney said the offer was unnecessary. Speaking to the Press Association, Swinney said: “The Scottish Government asked the UK Government for help in one particular issue, which was about aerial firefighting capacity – that is, to drop water from helicopters onto the fire. The UK Government does not have such resources – that’s the only thing that we need, we don’t need any other help. We’ve got all the help we need on the ground, but we just needed additional aerial water spreading capacity and the UK Government doesn’t have that – I’m not rejecting anything, they just haven’t got anything to offer us.”
Assurances from emergency services
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast, Gray said: “I would say that throughout this process, I have been given assurances from emergency services that they have all the resources necessary from the earliest point in the incident, and the only element that was requested additionally is aerial water bombing capable support over the weekend. That’s why we made the request to the UK Government for military assistance specifically for that element, and we are now aware that the UK does not have that military capability, and so we could not get further support or assistance. But I want to provide reassurance to residents in the vicinity that at all points we have had all the resource necessary on the ground, deployable and available in order to tackle this place.”
Local criticism
Residents of Nethy Bridge, who were evacuated on Friday night, were told they could return home on Sunday. Police Scotland said on Saturday night it was no longer treating the fire as a major incident.
Sandy McCook, chairman of the Nethy Bridge and vicinity community council, criticised the Scottish Government’s response on BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast. He said: “I’m very disappointed in the Scottish Government’s response in general to this. Had we asked for UK resources a week ago, when this fire was clearly running away from the fire and rescue service, regardless of what was said by Neil Gray that they had sufficient equipment, etc, we wouldn’t have been still here fighting it now if that had been the case.”
Ongoing operation and future learning
On Sunday afternoon, firefighters said an “intensive operation” is still under way but better weather conditions, including heavy rain and low winds, have slowed the fire and limited its spread. More than 75 firefighters remain at the scene, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said.
Gray said the Scottish Government would be “learning” from the wildfires in the Cairngorms and elsewhere in the UK and Europe. He continued: “There’s one in Derbyshire that has been raging for a month, there is one in the Peak District that has been going for over a fortnight, one in Wales that’s been almost a week, and we can see the impact of wildfires in France and Spain. We are needing to deal with a different dynamic here. Of course, the Scottish Government is reviewing … our resources and our response to wildfires, and we will certainly use learning from what has happened in the Cairngorms to do so.”
