A Fire Chief’s Perspective: Why Controlled Burning is an Essential Tool for Wildfire Prevention

When discussing moorland management, few voices carry more weight than those on the front lines of public safety. Here we summarise the professional insights of Bruce Farquharson, a senior officer from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service who not only holds national responsibility for wildfire across Scotland but also chairs the Scottish Wildfire Forum.

Drawing from extensive, high-level experience, he views muirburn (controlled burning) not as a threat, but as a crucial and highly effective practice for managing the landscape and preventing the kind of devastating wildfires that are becoming an increasing concern.

You can watch the interview with Bruce and read a summary of the key points below:

Controlled Burning: A Critical Fire Management Strategy

Controlled burning is not merely a land management technique; it is a fundamental pillar of public safety and wildfire prevention. It allows land managers to control the amount of flammable vegetation (fuel) on hillsides, directly reducing the risk and potential severity of future wildfires.

Creating a Safer Landscape

Controlled burning helps to manage fuel loads and prevent the rapid, uncontrollable spread of a wildfire. By burning vegetation in a planned way, land managers create a varied landscape that acts as a natural firebreak, breaking up large, continuous areas of fuel that would otherwise allow a fire to travel quickly over long distances.

As Bruce explains, this technique is vital for emergency response:

"The ability to manage the fuel and create a mosaic pattern across the countryside... allows us the opportunity when we do get wildfires to have that broken fuel continuation."

Crucially, this mosaic of recently burned, regenerating, and mature heather creates essential safe zones from which firefighters can strategically and safely mount their operations to combat a blaze.

Protecting Peatland and Carbon Stores

A key argument for controlled burning is its role in protecting vital peatland and the vast amounts of carbon stored within it. There is a critical difference between a controlled fire and an uncontrolled wildfire. Controlled burning involves small, cool, and quick-moving fires that burn only the surface vegetation. By reducing the available fuel, controlled burning ensures that if a fire does occur, it burns with less intensity.

This is critical because a less intense fire will not have the opportunity to penetrate into the soil and damage the underlying peat. In contrast, an uncontrolled wildfire burning through heavy fuel loads is hotter, more destructive, and far more likely to damage this fragile ecosystem, releasing "massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere." Small, controlled burns are a preventative measure to protect a critical carbon store from the catastrophic impact of a large wildfire.

The Rising Threat of Wildfire

The need for proactive fuel management like controlled burning is more urgent than ever due to a combination of factors that are increasing the wildfire risk across the UK.

A Confluence of Risks

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has identified a convergence of risks that are causing significant concern:

• Increasing Fuel Loads: Certain land management strategies, such as rewilding, while having benefits, can also lead to "large fuel loadings in key areas" without interruption. These unbroken tracts of vegetation can fuel extreme fires.

• Climate Change: The fire service is observing a direct impact from climate change. Wildfires are now burning with a "higher intensity than we've seen before."

• Extreme Fire Behaviour: The combination of heavy fuel loads and changing climate conditions means that when a fire does take hold, it is more likely to move very quickly and exhibit extreme behaviour, making it far more dangerous and difficult to control.

An Essential Alliance: Gamekeepers on the Fire Line

During a wildfire incident, the partnership between the fire service and the gamekeeping community is indispensable. Bruce emphasises that the assistance provided by gamekeepers is not just helpful, but essential.

Essential Partners on the Fire Line

Gamekeepers and other land managers provide invaluable support that is critical to the success of firefighting operations. Their key contributions include:

• Expert knowledge of the local terrain, including access routes and water sources.

• A deep, practical understanding of how fire behaves in the specific landscape and vegetation.

• Specialist all-terrain vehicles for accessing remote and difficult areas.

• Their own firefighting equipment and the knowledge to use it effectively.

The importance of this support cannot be overstated. In Bruce's own words:

"I would say that the Wildfire assistance we get from gamekeepers and other land managers is absolutely essential and critical to the effort we can mount to fight the fire."

Transferable Skills from Moorland Management

The skills that gamekeepers use to conduct controlled controlled burning are "really transferable" to a wildfire scenario. They possess a high level of experience in working with fire in the landscape, including techniques like back-burning, controlling a fire flank, and using specialist equipment such as fogging equipment, beaters, and leaf blowers to extinguish flames. This expertise can be used effectively by the fire service during an emergency.

Strengthening the Partnership for the Future

To meet the growing wildfire threat, the fire service is actively working to deepen its collaboration with land managers and gamekeepers, moving from a relationship of simple cooperation to one of full integration.

Practical Steps for Land Managers

The fire service has clear, practical recommendations for how estates can help prepare for future wildfires and strengthen this partnership:

• Develop a Fire Plan: Every estate should create a detailed fire plan. This plan should map key locations, roadways, fence lines, power cables, water sources, and any other valuable assets that firefighters would need to know about.

• Engage in Joint Training: Land managers should actively seek out and participate in opportunities for firefighters to observe or assist with burning activities. This hands-on collaboration is the best way to build mutual understanding and effective working relationships.

• Improve Access: Estates should consider how the landscape can be managed to aid emergency access. Putting in roadways and hard standings can significantly assist firefighters in getting equipment and personnel to an incident quickly and safely.

Correcting Common Misconceptions

Despite its clear benefits from a fire prevention standpoint, controlled burning is often misunderstood. Bruce directly addresses and corrects some of the most common negative perceptions.

Controlled Burning: Prevention, Not the Primary Cause

A widespread myth is that controlled burning is a primary cause of wildfires. The reality is the exact opposite.

"There's a misconception that muirburn is the cause of most of the wildfires we have when actually the opposite is true." While accidents involving muirburn can occasionally happen, they are the "exception rather than the norm."

Fundamentally, controlled burning prevents far more wildfires than it causes.

The Real Source of Wildfires

The actual cause of most wildfires is not skilled land management, but public behaviour. According to Bruce, the "bulk of the wildfires we see happening are generally because of the public," resulting from either a lack of awareness of the risks or careless actions.

Conclusion: A Shared Vision for a Safer Countryside

The professional testimony of one of Scotland’s leading wildfire experts is clear. Controlled burning is a vital, preventative tool in the face of a growing wildfire threat. The skills and local knowledge of gamekeepers are a critical resource for the emergency services.

Looking forward, a strong, integrated partnership between land managers and the fire service offers the most effective path to protecting our unique landscapes, communities, and vital carbon stores. The practical, skilled management of our moorlands is not part of the problem; it is an essential part of the solution.

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