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‘Extreme’ wildfire warning issued for Scotland as nation braces for peak fire season

Hunter BasslerMarch 19, 2025Safety, ScotlandLeave a comment

Most of Scotland’s rural communities are under multiple wildfire warnings through Friday as authorities brace for the region’s “most critical period for wildfires.”

An “extreme” wildfire warning will go into effect on Friday for the nation’s low-lying areas, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Until then, all of Scotland’s rural environments will be under a “very high” wildfire warning through Friday.

Once fires ignite in Scotland, they have the potential to burn for days, the service said.

“We are asking the public to exercise extreme caution and think twice before using anything involving a naked flame,” said Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Group Commander Murray Dalgleish. “Livestock, farmland, wildlife, protected woodland and sites of special scientific interest can all be devastated by these fires – as can the lives of people living and working in rural communities.”

Credit: Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Nearly 80% of Scotland’s large outdoor fires since 2010 have burned between March and May, an average of 170 wildfires annually. Prolonged wet weather in 2024 significantly dropped that year’s total to 55, but has fueled the growth of new vegetation across the nation.

In 2023, Scotland and the United Kingdom experienced their worst wildfire in recorded history. The Cannich Fire burned 30 sq miles of woodland in the Scottish Highlands and over half of the Corrimony nature reserve. Before that, the largest fire to burn in the UK was a wildfire in the peatland of Sutherland’s Flow Country in 2019.

The Fire Brigaders Union, which supports firefighters in the UK, said the Cannich Fire was directly connected to the world’s ongoing climate crisis.

“July last year saw the temperature in parts of the UK exceed 40 degrees centigrade for the first time in recorded history, increasing the risk of wildfires,” the union said in 2023. “All governments must heed this stark warning: the climate crisis is here now. We need urgent climate action to prevent loss of life, and that must also involve serious investment in our fire services.”

Around two-thirds of Scotland’s wildfires are accidental, with the most common cause being discarded cigarettes or unattended campfires, the service said.

“To address these risks, SFRS is advancing its Wildfire Strategy, and have invested £1.6 million in specialist equipment and firefighter training to improve its response capabilities,” the service said on its website. “It is crucial that people understand the impact of careless fire-setting. Even with the best intentions, small fires can rapidly spread causing devastating damage.”

Massive lead spike in Los Angeles’ air during wildfires, CDC says

Hunter BasslerFebruary 23, 2025California, Safety, Smoke, United States, WildfireLeave a comment

Thousands of Los Angeles residents fled their communities in January as the Palisades and Eaton fires neared their homes. While they escaped the dangers of the flames, another danger was spewed into the air, affecting countless other people.

Airborne lead levels in the city were 110 times higher than usual during the wildfires, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Los Angeles’ “Atmospheric Science and Chemistry mEasurment NeTwork (ASCENT)” (sic) site measured the increase from Jan. 8 to 11, with lead amounts spiking on Jan. 9.

The CDC attributed the increased lead levels to the homes that burned, many of which were built before 1978 when use of leaded paint was still common.

“The presence of heavy metals such as lead is not unusual in urban fire emissions, particularly in California, where legacy pollutants from older infrastructure, industrial sources, and soils can be remobilized during fires,” the CDC’s report said. “For example, during the 2018 Camp fire, monitors recorded ambient PM_2.5lead concentrations that averaged 0.13 μg/m³ during a period of 17 hours.”

The health effects from the lead-heavy emissions won’t be specifically known for some time, but center officials said ASCENT’s real-time measurements of airborne lead and other chemical constituents from the wildfires will be combined with health data of smoke-exposed individuals to gain a better understanding.

Generally, increased lead levels affect nearly every human organ, accumulate in teeth and bones, and pose significant health risks, especially for children who are more vulnerable to the element’s neurodevelopmental effects, the CDC said.

“Measures including removing lead from gasoline and leaded pipes and the banning or limiting of lead in consumer products, such as residential paint, have led to a 97% decrease in airborne lead concentrations in the United States since 1980,” the report said. “However, unlike chronic lead exposure, which has been widely studied, the health effects of brief, elevated lead exposures, such as those described in this report, are not well understood. Additional health research is needed, because airborne lead levels alone do not necessarily indicate exposure.”

Click here to read the full report.

Legal frameworks for firefighters

Guest WriterJanuary 28, 2025February 23, 2025California, Safety, Wildland FirefighterLeave a comment

The laws to protect firefighters are designed to provide a degree of comfort and certainty to those who are out there doing their job in an uncomfortable and uncertain environment. And there is no shortage of law firms looking for new work to ensure firefighters get the support they need. Jackson Ruby, a freelance writer for a California law firm, provides an overview of the legal frameworks that protect firefighters in legal actions.

Firefighters protect lives, property, and the environment from fire, medical emergencies, and disasters. Given their work’s high-risk and fast-paced nature, firefighters often make split-second decisions under extreme conditions. To enable them to perform their duties effectively without undue fear of legal repercussions, various legal frameworks have been established to protect them from lawsuits arising from their actions during an emergency response.

Sovereign Immunity and Qualified Immunity
One of the most significant legal doctrines protecting firefighters is sovereign immunity, which protects government entities and their employees from certain types of lawsuits. Sovereign immunity often extends to firefighters who work for municipal or state governments, protecting them from liability for acts performed within the scope of their employment.
In addition, firefighters in the United States may be protected by qualified immunity, which shields government employees from personal liability unless their actions violate “clearly established” statutory or constitutional rights. Qualified immunity ensures that firefighters are not deterred from performing their duties due to fear of litigation, as long as they act in good faith and within the boundaries of the law.

Good Samaritan Laws
Good Samaritan laws provide immunity from lawsuits to individuals, including firefighters, who render emergency aid in good faith and without gross negligence. For example, if a firefighter administers CPR or uses a defibrillator on an unresponsive person, they are typically protected from legal claims even if the outcome is unfavorable. These laws encourage quick action in emergencies by reducing the risk of legal consequences for well-intentioned efforts.

Statutory Protections
Many states have enacted specific statutes that protect firefighters from lawsuits arising from their official duties. These statutes often provide immunity for discretionary acts performed in the line of duty. For instance, decisions about how to suppress a fire, prioritize rescues, or deploy resources are generally considered discretionary and thus protected. However, these protections usually do not extend to acts of gross negligence, willful misconduct, or actions outside the scope of employment.

Workers’ Compensation Laws
Firefighters who are injured or killed in the line of duty are typically covered under workers’ compensation laws. These laws ensure that injured firefighters or their families receive medical benefits and compensation without the need to prove fault. Workers’ compensation also serves as the exclusive remedy for workplace injuries, preventing lawsuits against employers or coworkers for workplace-related incidents.

Federal Law Protections
Federal laws also play a role in shielding firefighters from legal repercussions. For example, the Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) provides immunity to volunteers, including volunteer firefighters, from liability for harm caused by their actions while performing duties for a nonprofit organization or government entity. The VPA encourages community service by reducing legal risks for volunteers.
Additionally, the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) allows lawsuits against federal employees under certain conditions but provides immunity for discretionary acts performed within the scope of employment. This framework can apply to federal firefighters working for agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service.

Collective Bargaining Agreements and Union Protections
Many firefighters are represented by unions that negotiate collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) on their behalf. These agreements often include provisions related to legal representation, indemnification, and procedural protections in cases of lawsuits or disciplinary actions. For example, a firefighter accused of negligence may receive legal defense funded by their employer or union, as stipulated in the CBA.

Limits and Accountability
While legal frameworks provide robust protections for firefighters, they are not absolute. Protections generally do not cover acts of gross negligence, intentional harm, or criminal misconduct. For instance, a firefighter who intentionally sets a fire or acts recklessly, endangering lives, can face legal and criminal consequences. This balance ensures that accountability is maintained while enabling firefighters to perform their duties without undue hesitation.
The legal frameworks protecting firefighters recognize the unique challenges and risks associated with their work. By providing immunity from lawsuits, these laws enable firefighters to act decisively and effectively in emergencies, knowing they are protected from undue legal repercussions. At the same time, these frameworks uphold accountability by excluding acts of gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing from protection. This balance is essential for maintaining public trust and ensuring that firefighters can focus on their critical mission of safeguarding lives and property.

Helping smokejumpers to predict wind turbulence

David BruceDecember 13, 2024Research, Safety, Wildland Firefighter

Wind turbulence is a well-known factor in the complex wildland fire environment. Sometimes it is the wind shear over vegetation, buildings, or terrain, and other times it’s the buoyant forces from solar surface heating or thermal plume injections from the fire itself.

Smokejumpers approaching landing zone in 2011. Photo: Mike McMillan

For a smokejumper, parachuting from a low-flying aircraft in a remote and rugged landscape, turbulence near the ground at the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is of particular concern.

Scientists at the Rocky Mountain Research Station have published a study on how to better predict terrain-induced turbulence to assist smokejumper operations.

Smokejumpers are employed by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management throughout the western US and Alaska. These smokejumpers use Ram-Air style parachutes, which require forward speed to maintain lift (USFS 2018). Small wind fluctuations can drastically impact parachute aerodynamics. Existing protocols to assess ABL turbulence during jump operations include the release of weighted streamers to visually assess the winds and turbulence. Numerous hard landings, serious accidents, and fatalities have been attributed to unexpected near-surface turbulence during training and operational jumps. Searching “Smokejumper Accident” on the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center’s website shows an average of four serious jump injuries per year between 2015–2023 in which turbulence potentially played a factor.

Wind flow over ridges can create large wake zones with increased turbulence that extend far downwind. This phenomenon likely contributed to the hard landing that resulted in a smokejumper fatality during a jump on the Eicks Fire in New Mexico in 2021 The research team used WindNinja, the high-resolution diagnostic wind model for wildland fire applications, to investigate surface winds and turbulence during the jump operation on the Eicks Fire. The findings indicate that the jump took place in the wake of a tall upwind ridge that created a large re-circulation zone with areas of turbulence.

WindNinja is routinely used by fire managers in the US and around the world and can drive operational fire spread models such as FlamMap and Prometheus. These uses take wind speed and direction predictions from WindNinja, however, the research notes that WindNinja can also generate information about the near-surface atmosphere, such as turbulence and shear. The researchers say these capabilities, to date, have not been made accessible to end users or formally assessed for accuracy by the development team. WindNinja has been evaluated in the field but not in the really rugged terrain where smokejumper operations often occur. Here, wind modeling is far more complex and challenging.

This study concluded that WindNinja’s lesser-known ability to simulate wind turbulence could be of use for assessing smokejumper operations under moderate to high wind conditions.

They also suggest that although this work focused on smoke jumping, real-time turbulence predictions from WindNinja could be useful for other near-surface firefighting aerial operations.

Predicting terrain-induced wind turbulence for smokejumper parachute operations is an open-access article in the International Journal of Wildland Fire.

Increasingly frequent and severe wildfires causing a firefighting aircraft boom

Hunter BasslerDecember 2, 2024December 3, 2024Prevention, Research, Safety, Wildfire

Extreme wildfire events are becoming more frequent and intense, satellite imagery has shown.

Six of the past seven years have been among the most extreme wildfire years on record, according to research from Australia’s University of Tasmania. The frequency of extreme wildfire events has also more than doubled between 2003 and 2023.

The research “provides concrete evidence of a worrying trend,” according to lead researcher Dr. Calum Cunningham.

A worrying trend for the world’s living beings is seemingly an economic opportunity for the global firefighting aircraft market, a new report from the Business Research Company said.

File photo of an Air Tractor 802 Fire Boss operated by Conair. Not necessarily the aircraft involved in the incident. — File photo of an Air Tractor 802 Fire Boss operated by Conair.

The market has “grown strongly” in recent years, with an increase from $8.77 billion in 2023 to $9.57 billion in 2024. The market is expected to grow to $13.42 by 2028 at a compound annual growth rate of 8.8%.

“The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to climate change impact on wildfires, development of next-generation fire retardants, increased focus on early detection, global expansion of wildland-urban interfaces, and government preparedness investments,” the report said. “Major trends in the forecast period include enhanced remote sensing technologies, integration of drone technology, advancements in aerial firefighting technologies, the growing importance of aerial firefighting services, and global collaboration for aerial firefighting resources.”

One of the major market trends identified in the report was the rise of autonomous aerial firefighting technology, including the autonomous MK2 developed by California-based company Rain. The autonomous helicopter is reportedly designed to transport around 30 gallons of payload to a fire and can perform all standard helicopter flight phases controlled by a remote operator.

A similar helicopter from Lockheed Martin was recently demonstrated to an audience of NASA, FEMA, and wildland firefighting officials. The company claimed the aircraft could be commanded solely on a tablet from 300 miles away and extinguish fires as small as 12 inches in diameter.

READ MORE: Self-driving aircraft may soon head to a wildfire near you

Another market driver the report found is rising global urbanization. The World Bank reported around 56% of the world’s total population lives in urban areas as of 2023, and the global urban population is expected to reach 6 billion by 2045. This, coupled with the forecast surge in the number of wildfires, is expected to drive the growth of the firefighting aircraft market.

The region with the largest share of the firefighting aircraft market was reportedly Asia-Pacific, but North America is expected to be the fastest-growing region over the coming years.

Students at California college choked by wildfire smoke urge campus closure

Hunter BasslerSeptember 11, 2024September 11, 2024California, Safety, Smoke, Wildfire

Many schools around San Bernardino County have closed as smoke from the nearby Line Fire blots out the sky and pollutes the air around the area.

Air quality for the area on Wednesday was recorded as “Unhealthy” at 178 PM2.5, according to AirNow. The entire county is under an air quality alert issued by the National Weather Service until Thursday morning. The fire has burned 34,729 acres and is at 14% containment as of Wednesday afternoon.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Line Fire’s evacuations for thousands hold as it burns away from San Bernardino

The hazardous conditions caused many school districts throughout the area to close for the week, including the Bear Valley Unified School District, the Redlands Unified School District, and the Rim of the World Unified School District.

California State University at San Bernardino, however, has continued to have classes, enraging thousands of students on campus.

Line Fire burning on Sept. 10 near Keller Peak. Credit: ALERTCalifornia / UC San Diego

“This fire has brought with it a surge of potential health effects, most notably to those with pre-existing respiratory issues, adding a layer of danger on top of an already dangerous situation,” a petition to close the campus, which has reached over 3,000 signatures, said. “As per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to such particles can cause respiratory symptoms and aggravate lung and heart conditions.”

The EPA attributes numerous health effects to short-term wildfire smoke exposure, including:

Heart failure
Heart attack
Stroke
Increased risk of emergency room visits and hospital admissions
Bronchitis
Reduced lung function
Increased risk of asthma exacerbation and aggravation of other lung diseases

“It’s distressing that amidst these severe conditions, the campus remains open, forcing students and faculty members to risk their health,” the petition said. “We should not have to choose between our health and our education. Safe and quality education should not involve risking your wellbeing.”

Recent Washington Department of Ecology research found air pollution, driven by wildfire smoke, shortened life expectancy for the state’s most overburdened communities by 2.4 years. Those communities also had higher numbers of deaths from cardiovascular disease.

READ MORE: Smoke reduced life expectancy across Washington

Smoke from other wildfires in the area, including the Bridge, Airport, and Roblar fires, are also inundating the area but will also act to moderate fire activity, San Bernardino National Forest officials said Wednesday.

“Smoke from fires across the region will help moderate fire activity unless the skies clear and the smoke thins,” officials said. “That would allow for more slope and vegetation aligned runs.”

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