Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Highland gamekeepers call for better prevention measures following days fighting destructive wildfire

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association has spoken of the need for better planning when it comes to tackling wildfires.

Gamekeepers are calling for more robust wildfire prevention plans in the wake of the devastating Cannich wildfire in the Highlands.

The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) wants the Scottish Government to bring in compulsory wildfire mitigation planning to avert similar incidents seen this week.

For days fire crews have been battling an ever-growing wildfire west of Loch Ness that has spread to cover six square miles. 

More than 18,000 acres of land have been scorched by the flames and could be seen from space.

Precision water drops by the Skyhook helicopter team were described as pivotal by firefighters on the ground. Image: SGA Media.

The SGA says money is being lost through habitat schemes and planting programmes due to ineffective wildfire prevention planning.

A crew of 16 gamekeepers have assisted in bringing the fire under control at RSPB Corrimony.

It is the second time in 25 years the nature reserve has been affected by fire with trees planted through public funding now destroyed.

According to witnesses, RSPB staff were working with one tank of water to help dowse the flames, with staff leaving once gamekeepers arrived to help.

One gamekeeper said: “If RSPB had the proper equipment, planning and knowledge, they would not have been in the situation.”

A gamekeeper on the front line of the wildfire at Cannich
A gamekeeper working at the fire face at the Cannich wildfire. Image: SGA Media.

Another gamekeeper, Steven Gray, was out fire-fighting on the reserve with two other gamekeepers.

Only once the gamekeepers were able to relay information to the helicopter were they able to target the flames and prevent further damage.

Gamekeepers carried out back-burning to prevent the loss of built structures around the fire and extinguished an open hill fire on Tuesday evening before it hit forestry.

Mr Gray said: “If the fire had gone in there it would have continued on to Glen Affric.”

The massive fire, which has burned for several days, has caused incredible damage to a nature reserve usually teeming with wildlife at this time of year.

The RSPB are now appealing to the public to help restore and protect the nature reserve which could take months.

‘May as well start lighting pound notes’

Poor access to the right fire equipment lack of necessary fuel load management is putting major strain on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

SGA chairman, Alex Hogg, said: “The rest of the world is waking to measures required to protect people and habitats from wildfire.

“In Scotland, through the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Bill, we risk going in the opposite direction by making it much harder for land managers to protect land by reducing un-managed fuel loads.”

“The results of this will be loss to humans, animals and properties. Instead of placing restrictions on fuel management, and in recognition of the longer fire seasons we are experiencing, it should become compulsory for land owners to have proper wildlife mitigation plans in place.”

Fuel load management consists of removing potential hazards which could result in a wildfire.

Mr Hogg warns while the efforts to restore peatland in the Highlands are “admirable” it’s no use without wildfire prevention measures.

“If the Scottish Government spends £250m on peatland restoration, without prerequisite fuel load management, it may as well start lighting pound notes.

“It might be admirable but it’s no use to anyone if it goes up in smoke.”

Conversation