As Wildfires Plague Europe, Scotland Races to Save a Cherished National Park
New York Times · LC · trust 38/100
As Europe’s climate warms, even moorlands and forests in the Cairngorms, in the Scottish Highlands, have fallen victim to rapidly spreading flames.
Listen · 5:35 min Share full article 4 Land charred by the Cairngorm wildfire, in Aviemore, Scotland, on Tuesday. Credit... Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images By Stephen Castle
Those scenes are increasingly familiar to parts of southern Europe , but many visitors to Britain’s largest national park, the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands, would be more prepared for rain than wildfires, even in summer.
Yet on Wednesday firefighters were still battling a two-week conflagration that has ripped through moorland and forest, obliterating some of Scotland’s most cherished natural scenery, threatening wildlife and forcing some local residents and tourists to evacuate.
“Southern Spain and southern France are starting to get the weather that North Africa had, and the U.K. is starting to get the weather that Spain or France had 20 years ago,” said Grant Moir, chief executive of the Cairngorms National Park, in a telephone interview. “That is the whole thing about climate change.”
The blaze began on July 15 near Aviemore, a Highland town known for its winter snow sports. At its height, more than 500 firefighters responded. Two helicopters dropped up to 40,000 liters of water per hour to douse the flames, and the police last week declared the wildfires a “major incident,” with smoke seen in Aberdeen , more than 60 miles to the east.
“The whole thing has been horrifying from start to finish,” said Bill Lobban, the civic head of the Highland Council, the local municipality. “When you see a national park going up in flames over a widespread area, with huge levels of destruction, it’s heartbreaking.”
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