Urgent appeal for volunteers to join battle against raging Moray and Highland wildfires
A call has gone out for volunteers to help tackle two wildfire raging over a section of countryside.
Firefighters are currently tackling blazes near the Dava, Knockando, Dallas and Alves and Carrbridge areas and a call has gone out for volunteers to assist bring it under control.
In particular, those who have ATVs or fogging units, tractors with flails or tractors with water tanks which can cope with rough terrain are urged to step forward.
The rendezvous points for volunteers is The Square, Grantown-on-Spey, PH25 3HG from where they will be directed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Due to the nature of the fire volunteers are urged not to self-deploy under any circumstances.
Meanwhile, two Highlands MSP have called on the Scottish Government to activate its emergency resilience room in response to the fires.
Douglas Ross MSP made his call after being contacted by the Scottish Land and Estates, who told him that their members have now been asked to provide volunteers with specialist fire equipment to help bring the fires under control in Moray and Speyside.
He went on to state that he agrees with their calls to activate the resilience room given it was previously activated when fires spread in Galloway in April and that these fires have continued to rage since early on Saturday evening. Mr Ross has now contacted First Minister John Swinney to urge him to make all available resources available to combat the blaze.
He said: “This has been a ferocious fire that is still burning with smoke now having spread across Moray.
“With Scottish Land and Estates now getting asked to provide volunteers with specialised equipment to help bring the fires under control, it shows the scale of the threat.
“I fully support their calls for the First Minister and the Scottish Government to activate their resilience room in response to this. They did so when fires raged at the other end of the country in Galloway in April and these fires are arguably even larger than those ones.
“I have contacted the First Minister asking him to agree to this request as a matter of urgency.
“I thank the firefighters on the ground as well as gamekeepers and estate workers for their incredible work since the weekend and I hope they will soon have greater support to help them.
“I also urge everyone to follow the advice of the emergency services as the smoke travels across Moray. There is an eerie feel with the dark skies and smoke across the area, which is a stark reminder of the power of these fires and the destruction they cause.”
He added that he was full of praise for the “incredible” work being carried out by firefighters in the area alongside gamekeepers and estate workers and urged everyone living and working locally to follow the advice of the emergency services.
Mr Ross’s calls to activate the resilience room were echoed by Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing.
He continued: “Wildfires presently raging in the Highlands in my constituency and beyond are said by many locals to be the worst in our history.
”Yesterday I asked Scottish Government ministers to convene the SGORR (Scottish Government Resilience Room). This should co-ordinate the response to what is beyond question an emergency. I was told the situation be monitored.
”Today I repeated my plea.
”Monitoring is not enough.
”Yesterday’s efforts were hampered through lack of helicopters. Today there is a multi-agency meeting in Grantown. More help is urgently needed. That help must be procured and ordered now without delay.
”SGORR should therefore, in my view, be convened without delay.”
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead added: “The wildfires we’ve seen on the Moray boundary at Dava and at Knockando have caused a great deal of concern locally, and the fire service is now reportedly responding to fires at Dallas and Alves, too.
“Windy conditions make the situation very challenging and I want to pay tribute to the fire crews, land manages, and volunteers who have been working tirelessly for days to fight these fires.
“I’d urge the public to stay safe by following guidance and advice from the fire service and other authorities, especially requests not to start fires or use disposable BBQ, and to keep doors and windows closed if you can see smoke from your home.”