‘Extreme risk’ of wildfires across Scotland as crews tackle 10-acre blaze

Handout photo taken with permission from the social media site X, formerly Twitter, posted by @Police Scotland of a wildfire on the Isle of Arran, Scotland. Fire chiefs are calling on people to act responsibly after an "extreme" wildfire warning was issued for the whole of Scotland. Michael Humphreys, the national wildfire lead for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), made the plea as the warning covering Friday and Saturday came into effect. Issue date: Friday April 11, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story SCOTLAND Wildfires. Photo credit should read: Police Scotland/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
A fire that broke out in Arran in April (Picture: Police Scotland/PA Wire)

An extreme risk warning for wildfires has been issues across mainland Scotland, as crews battle a 10 acre blaze.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is tackling a major wildfire in Fauldhouse, West Lothian.

It said the blaze covered a wooded area of around 40,000 square metres, which is equivalent to five and a half football pitches in size.

An SFRS spokesperson said: ‘We received the call at 11.43am.

‘We currently have six appliances in attendance plus two special appliances.

‘It’s a large area of trees alight, it’s 200 metres by 200 metres. Crews remain in attendance.’

Earlier the SFRS said dry, warm weather was had heightened the risk for wildfires and asked the public to be careful with naked flames in the countryside.

The latest Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) report, meanwhile, shows water levels in many rives across the country are low due to a lack of rain.

COLINTRAIVE, SCOTLAND - APRIL 10: A helicopter douses a wild fire with water on the Isle of Bute on April 10, 2025 in Colintraive, Scotland. There has been a rise in the number of wildfires across the UK this year, which reports say, although this March was the fourth driest on record, are as much attributable to human intervention as climate. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
A helicopter dousing a wild fire with water on the Isle of Bute in April (Picture: 2025 Getty Images)

The extreme risk warning for fires is in place until Monday.

A number of fires broke out in Scotland last month.

Almost 30,000 trees were destroyed on Arran, while campers and hikers had to be evacuated from Glentrool in Galloway have.

The fires came after temperatures reached 23C on April 5, which was the hottest day of the year.

Scotland experiences on average 170 wildfires each year, 80% of which are between March and May.

Most are started by people.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *