SWF statement on Morayshire Wildfires - Updated 10.07.25
- Scottish Wildfire Forum
- Jul 8
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 14
Update - 10.07.25
We are still assessing the full impact of the recent wildfires in Morayshire but we know this has been Scotland’s largest wildfire event on record. Two big fires, one near Carrbridge and the other on the Dava moor, joined. The main run of the wildfires occurred in the period 28th June – 1st July. The fires are still smouldering, with occasional re-kindling. Extensive containment and mop-up operations are still being carried out by land managers and SFRS.
The size of the fire has been estimated from two sources:
EFFIS satellite information, indicating a total fire size of 9,664 ha (23,870 acres)
local sources of information compiled into an updated map by Cawdor Forestry Ltd, showing a total fire size of 9,752 ha (24,087 acres), and a perimeter length of around 253 kilometres (157 miles)
This includes damage to around 8,716 ha (21,529 acres) of moorland and peatland and 1,036 ha (2,559 acres) of forest.
The fires threatened homes and damaged moors, forests, peatland and farming infrastructure such as fences. Smoke was an issue over a wide area. Many roads in the area had to be closed and residents were advised to close windows and doors on public health grounds. The Local Resilience Partnership, where multi-agency responses to such incidents are managed, held daily meetings.
The fires were suppressed by partnership working between the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, land managers, farmers, foresters and in particular gamekeepers. Without this joint approach, the impact of these wildfires would have been even more devastating and would have posed an even greater risk to the public.
The Scottish Wildfire Forum is deeply grateful to all those who were involved in bringing these difficult fires under control. The SFRS crews alongside the expertise and dedication of keepers, foresters and farmers who work in our rural landscapes, fought for several days to ensure the fires were extinguished. People travelled great distances to bring their resources to bear. Locals volunteered and donated huge quantities of food and drinks. Our thanks go to all.
We recognise that these were challenging fires, and this incident has underlined the requirement to improve Scotland’s resilience and preparedness for the growing wildfire risk. This was the core theme of the recent UK Wildfire conference 'Resilience in a Changing World', hosted by the SWF in 2024 in Aberdeen.
Scottish Land & Estates, a member of SWF, has distributed a questionnaire to the affected estates, which aims to gather information on the spread of the fire and the resources land managers deployed during the incident. Also to glean a true picture of fire behaviour and impacts. This information will inform our future work.
Information on the fire is being collected. Debriefs and multi-agency “lessons learned” events, which will include land managers and other people involved, are being planned. Further information will be provided when the facts can be established.
Notes:
Maps of the Dava-Carrbridge wildfire are below.
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