'Mega blaze' warning as First Minister told reliance on private helicopter firms to fight wildfires must end

By CLAIRE ELLIOT, SCOTTISH GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:02, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 20:02, 21 July 2026 John Swinney has been told Scotland’s reliance on private helicopters to fight wildfires needs to end before another ‘mega’ blaze tears through the Highlands. The call comes after helicopters only arrived more than 24 hours after a blaze broke out in the Cairngorms National Park last week - by which time it had ravaged almost 1,000 acres. Crews remained on the scene on Tuesday with around 10sq km now blackened and charred by the inferno which broke out on Abernethy National Nature Reserve last Wednesday. Land managers have now called for an end to the reliance of private helicopter firms telling the First Minister that wildfires are ‘won and lost on day one’. He met rural representatives at the scene when there was a feeling of ‘frustration’ and ‘exasperation’ that not enough progress had been made since last year’s ‘mega’ fire in Speyside. Ross Ewing, Director of Moorland and Strategic Projects at Scottish Land & Estates, which represents rural landowners, businesses and land managers, said that there was a real concern that, had the weather not been in their favour at the weekend, it could have spread as far as Marr Lodge Estate, near Braemar, almost 20 miles away. He said: ‘You want to tackle a wildfire while it’s still small so you really do have to get the helicopters there as soon as possible. Fires are often won or lost literally on day one. First Minister John Swinney and Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Kenny Barbour in the Cairngorms Firefighters tackling the blaze in the Cairngorms ‘The issue was, at day two, the fire was pretty big. The helicopters were very helpful but if they were available more quickly, maybe more significant progress could have been made.’ He said there was now an urgent need for ‘independent aerial capability to tackle wildfire in Scotland’. He said: ‘We can’t rely on private helicopter companies. who are doing other contracted work or tackling other wildfires and Scotland is left with nothing. It’s just not sustainable for the future. Instantaneous access is pretty much what we need.’ Mr Ewing added that fire crews had been ‘lucky’ because the wind was low and temperatures dipped at the weekend, with a shower of rain. But he said: ‘If we hadn’t had those things I do worry we might have been dealing with a situation where the fire might have gone as far as Mar Lodge near Braemar, which would have been utterly catastrophic. That’s a mega fire, if I ever heard one.’ Cairngorms National Park board convenor Sandy Bremner also said: ‘It was an opportunity to stress the vital importance of immediate access to fire-fighting aircraft to supplement the incredible efforts on the ground in hard-to-reach areas, preventing small outbreaks having catastrophic consequences.’ A helicopter helps tackle the wildfire this week The area is home to more than 5,000 species of animals and plants and there are fears that many may have been decimated. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that progress has been made but ‘significant hotspots remain across a large and complex landscape’, with the fire as of yesterday having covered an area of ‘around 10sq km’. During his visit to the area, Mr Swinney told STV that the Scottish Government will consider calls for a dedicated air service to tackle wildfires. He said: ‘Obviously aerial support has been fundamental to trying to extinguish this fire and we have to make it possible for that to be readily available in such circumstances.’ Mr Swinney also met community leaders and SFRS wildfire tactical advisers and crews from Ballater and Kingussie Community Fire Stations to see first-hand the impact of the blaze. He spoke with more than a dozen firefighters, including Deputy Assistant Fire Chief Kenny Barbour (keep in as he’s in the pic), who is also chairman of the Scottish Wildfire Forum. Those who were evacuated following the blaze have now been allowed to return to their properties. But a strict cordon remains in place with public access to Glenmore Forest Park or Loch Morlich as firefighting efforts continue. A warning for a ‘very high risk’ of wildfire, meanwhile, has been extended across Central Highlands, Eastern and Southern Scotland until Friday.