Above, a lightly-clad firefighter working in Dunwich heat next to a nuclear power station.

In the Guardian today:

The government quietly scrapped plans to prepare the countryside in England for wildfires, it has been revealed. This was despite new data showing fire crews do not have the proper protective gear to tackle them. This summer has been a potent reminder of the scale of the threat posed by the climate crisis, with the UK experiencing record-breaking wildfires after punishingly hot and dry weather turned large parts of the countryside into a tinderbox. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/04/government-dropped-plan-england-countryside-wildfires

Scotland already has a published Strategic Action Plan for Wildfires (5 March 2026), produced with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), land managers and the Scottish Wildfire Forum. https://www.gov.scot/publications/strategic-action-plan-wildfires/

The plan is built on three pillars — prevention, preparedness and response — and includes measures already under way:

• Fire-prevention byelaws in the Cairngorms National Park from April 2026, with powers for other local authorities to do the same under the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026.
• Stronger public warnings and wildfire-danger assessments.
• Promotion of firebreaks and regulated muirburn as fuel-load tools, alongside land-management plans for large holdings under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.
• SFRS investment in specialist kit: a tactical burn-back team, four new wildfire support units (Alford, Oban, Galashiels, Dornoch) and two interim units (Lockerbie and Thurso), plus controlled-burn training.
• A multi-agency “concept of operations” before the 2026 season, expanded incident response plans, a review of helicopter standby arrangements, and expansion of the Community Asset Register so private equipment and volunteers can be used.
• Exploration of a mountain-rescue-style volunteer wildfire model, possibly trialled in the Cairngorms.

Rural bodies such as Scottish Land & Estates have publicly welcomed the plan, particularly the formal role for private equipment and staff.

https://www.farminguk.com/news/new-wildfire-action-plan-unveiled-to-tackle-growing-fire-risk-in-scotland_68119.html https://www.scottishlandandestates.co.uk/news/landmark-wildfire-action-plan-help-response-major-blazes-scotland

Finally, in the Guardian again:

This was despite new data showing fire crews do not have the proper protective gear to tackle them.

Scottish crews were not in the same position as the English services reported as having no wildfire PPE. Specialist wildland kit existed in Scotland well before 2026. There is no public equivalent of the Country Land and Business Association survey, in the same Guardian article, showing Scottish firefighters also had no wildfire PPE in earlier years. 

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