More than 1,500 wildfires in decade must be ‘wake-up call’, Tories say

More than 1,500 wildfires have been recorded in Scotland in the past decade, figures show, with the Conservatives warning the data must be a “wake-up call” for ministers.

Statistics from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service released to the party under freedom of information legislation show 1,574 wildfires between 2015 and the end of May this year.

The Highlands suffered most, reporting 574 fires during that period, followed by 131 in the Western Isles. That compares with just seven in Renfrewshire and Clackmannanshire.

The statistics also show the first five months of 2025 have already seen more wildfires reported than in any other full year apart from 2017 and 2018.

It comes as a report from Scottish Land & Estates found two wildfires last year, at Carrbridge and Dava in the Highlands, were the biggest in Scotland’s history.

Scottish Tory rural affairs spokesman Tim Eagle said it was “disgraceful” it took rural affairs minister Jim Fairlie three weeks to visit areas impacted by recent blazes.

But Mr Fairlie hit out at the Tories for playing “political games” with such a serious issue.

He said: “These figures need to be an urgent wake-up call for ministers like him to change their approach.”

He welcomed that the Scottish Government’s controls on muirburn had been delayed by a year, but urged the First Minister to ensure rural areas “won’t be harmed further by misguided legislation and that the SNP’s actions do not increase the threat these communities are increasingly facing from wildfires”.

Muirburn – the controlled burning of vegetation on peatland – can help to limit wildfires, with the Scottish Government’s new licensing scheme for the practice due to be in place this year.

Mr Eagle added: “This alarming rise in wildfire numbers raises significant concern about the growing threat they are posing to rural Scotland in particular.

“Areas like the Highlands are already facing huge challenges but are now having to brace themselves every time there is a spell of good weather.

“The recent wildfires we saw across the Highlands had a devastating impact across our landscape.”

Mr Fairlie said: “It is extremely disappointing that the Tories have used such a serious issue in the face of these devastating fires to play political games.

“I will continue to do the work I need to do and engage with those directly involved with tackling the blaze at the appropriate time for them to ensure I am not distracting them from the vital work they were doing and continue to do now.

“So far this year the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and Scottish Wildfire Forum have issued 10 wildfire warnings; last year there were only four, demonstrating the difference that weather patterns can make.

“I have seen first hand the damage that recent fires have caused due to the prolonged period of dry weather, and I cannot stress enough how mindful people have to be when in the countryside and urge them not to light fires or BBQs in the conditions we have just now and to pay attention to wildfire warnings.”

The minister added that the Government has the best way of implementing the muirburn licensing scheme as he expressed his thanks to SFRS staff.

Garry Mackay, deputy assistant chief officer at SFRS – the agency’s head of operations – said the recent blazes were an example of wildfires “getting bigger and lasting longer” in Scotland.

“These incidents were on a huge scale and required a significant deployment of firefighters, who worked effectively alongside landowners and partner agencies, as is commonly the case at incidents of this nature,” he added.

The fire service will have spent £1.6 million on all-terrain vehicles and specialist equipment as a result of its wildfire strategy, which was launched in 2023, he said.