News / Wildfire warning
FOLLOWING one of the wettest winters on record, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s is urging local people to be on their guard and help reduce the risks of wildfire incidents on the islands.
Last year firefighters were called to deal with hundreds of wildfire/grassfire incidents across Scotland, including Shetland.
Local senior officer for the western isles, Shetland and Orkney, Billy Wilson, said: “We want people to act responsibly in a countryside environment, such as properly disposing of smoking materials to prevent these fires happening in the first place.
“We had a number of large wildfires last year which affected areas of the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.”
Last year, the SFRS attended 333 grass, heather and heathland fire incidents in the north of Scotland between the end of March and 15 April. Five of these wildfires were in Shetland.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
