Continued progress in tackling Cairngorms wildfire
Substantive response measures to remain in place.
First Minister John Swinney has welcomed continued progress in controlling the Cairngorms wildfires as he chaired another meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR) this afternoon.
Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, Justice Secretary Neil Gray and Climate Action and Rural Affairs Secretary Gillian Martin were also in attendance, along with representatives from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), Police Scotland, Highland Council and Cairngorms National Park.
The SFRS confirmed that a Level 3 response will continue and reported positive progress in controlling the outbreak.
Additional support for residents in Nethy Bridge remains in place through the Local Resilience Partnership.
The First Minister said:
“As our emergency services and partners continue to tackle the wildfires in the Cairngorms, I am pleased to see there has been welcome progress and I thank all again for their continued hard work and collaboration.
“The Scottish Government requested military assistance, in the form of aerial support to drop water on the fire, from the Ministry of Defence to supplement existing aerial resources that are in place. We have received a formal response advising that the UK Government are not in a position to agree to this request, given that the Ministry of Defence does not possess aerial firefighting assets stationed within the UK. The offer of other resources is welcome but SFRS has confirmed they have the other resources they need.
“Ministers will continue to be updated on the fire and resources and services will remain until the fire is out. As I stated earlier, this wildfire is being treated with the utmost seriousness and necessary resources will be in place until the last flames are out.”
Background
Plans for the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGORR) to meet again tomorrow will be reviewed following updates from local resilience partners.