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.

Union issues stark warning after over 18,000 acres of Highland destroyed in wildfire

The union warns climate-related incidents are on the rise.

Union leaders have spoken about the dangers of recent budget cuts to the fire service as crews battle a large-scale wildfire across Cannich for a fourth day.

Last week, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service announced further cuts – resulting in the loss of ten appliances.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has warned these cuts will reduce fire cover and impact firefighters’ ability to respond to incidents.

According to the union, a decade of budget cuts has already left the service stretched for resources.

Since 2010, 11,500 firefighters have been cut across the UK, and Scotland alone has lost 1,100 firefighters since 2013.

Meanwhile, climate-related incidents – like the Cannich wildfire – have increased in frequency and severity.

Acres of woodland has been destroyed in the wake of the wildfire.
The images were taken by Balintore firefighters are they monitored the situation alongside crews from Beauly and Newtonmore. Image: Balintore Fire Station.

Firefighters have battled the Highland wildfire since Sunday afternoon.

Since, 18,285 acres of land has been destroyed, with images of a 22-mile-long plume of smoke being captured by Nasa from space.

It is now the biggest blaze recorded in the UK with crews still continuing attempts to stop it in its tracks.

Two crew members were taken to hospital, but have since been discharged.

Union says: ‘Climate crisis is here now’

Wildfires require a large number of firefighters due to the extensive terrain, according to the FBU.

It is physically demanding work over long periods, with equipment needing to be transported by hand.

Jamie Thrower, incident commander with Fire and Rescue Scotland pictured amidst the fire stricken woodland near Cannich.
Jamie Thrower, incident commander with Fire and Rescue Scotland surrounded by acres of destroyed woodland following a large-scale wildfire near Cannich. Image: Sandy McCook/ DC Thomson.

Crews are also exposed to significant temperatures while working to control the flames.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary is urging the government to invest in the fire service to continue the fight against wildfires.

He said: “Throughout this week, firefighters in Scotland have bravely battled what is now believed to be one of the biggest wildfires in UK history and which can be seen from space.

“Two of our members have already been injured working in these extreme conditions.

“Thankfully both have now returned home. However, this shows us the real dangers of the climate emergency.

“Wildfires, such as the ones we are seeing in Cannich at the moment, are on the rise year on year.

“All governments must heed this stark warning: the climate crisis is here now.

“We need urgent climate action to prevent loss of life, and that must also involve serious investment in our fire services.”

Conversation