From BBC Scotland yesterday:
A wildfire which has been burning in the Cairngorms for four days remains “dangerous and unpredictable,” a senior firefighter has warned.
Community leaders previously criticised the Scottish government for describing the blaze which started near Ryvoan Bothy, south of Nethy Bridge on Wednesday, as “contained”.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said hundreds of firefighters, two helicopters and specialist resources had tackled the flames.
The most recent SFRS report does not feature the word ‘hundreds’ but does assert:
More than 50 firefighters are continuing to tackle a wildfire in the Glenmore area of the Cairngorms National Park for a third consecutive day, supported by specialist resources and helicopter water-bombing operations.
You may say ‘hundreds’ is ‘more than 50’ but we all know that it means less than 60 so, how many firefighters does the SFRS have.
3 430 full-time firefighters out 7 556 total staff plus 2 705 ‘retained’, part-timers on call for emergencies. https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/
What percentage is 60 out of 3 430? 1.7%
Out of the 3 430 plus the 2 705 retained, 6 135? 0.97%.
How many current wildfires or major emergencies? One.
Coping? Kind of?
But:
Sandy McCook, chairman of Nethy Bridge community council, told BBC Radio Scotland: “They are doing sterling work, they are doing everything they can. “But it is still a bucket in the ocean compared to the size of the incident we have.”
Has anyone asked the head of the the SFRS what he thinks of that ‘bucket in the ocean’ thing in the light of what he has already said:
Nine fire appliances, two specialist wildfire units and tactical commanders remain deployed today (Friday, 17 July). SFRS was first alerted to a fire in the open at around lunchtime on Wednesday, 15 July.
Crews are using a high-volume pump to draw large volumes of water from Loch Morlich to support firefighting operations and are continuing to work alongside landowners and partner agencies to establish firebreaks and contain the spread of the fire.
The high-volume pump is a critical part of the operation, enabling firefighters to transport substantial volumes of water over long distances and deliver a sustained water supply directly to the fire ground in an area where access can be challenging.
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Mr McCook is a former long term employee of the Aberdeen Press and Journal, which is on the right of the political spectrum, in favour of more drilling in the North Sea. So, it is likely he has contacts within the media and can get his vox pops published.
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Indeed. There are political overtones to moorland fires. Recently the Cairngorms National Park introduced a by law banning the public from lighting fires for BBQs. Huge electronic message boards confront you at the entrance to the park, not with a “Welcome” but a dire warning. Of course, land owners and property owners can light fires and in April gamekeepers do light fires for the grouse shooting. That’s perfectly acceptable.
The drive to deprive the general public of this facility comes from people, maybe Mr McCook is one of them, who have retired to a lovely forest location, built their house, and wish to prevent the hoi polloi from bringing their children to the park and lighting BBQs which might threaten their property.
So the educational and recreational aims of the Cairngorms National Park are narrowed as the public are forbidden to have BBQs. The proper solution might have been to create BBQ pits as they do in Scandinavia and include fire safety education in the school curriculum as they also do in Scandinavia.
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