Mostly Wildfires, plus a Cairngorms camp with torn trousers

The Abernethy-Ryvoan Fire Day1. View from Craigellachie

On July 15 I was driving to Aviemore when I saw smoke billowing up from behind Meall a’Bhuachaille. I was heading for Coire na Ciste and a walk on the long north ridge of Cairn Gorm, a favourite quiet place. Approaching Aviemore the smoke looked thicker. Stopping, I consulted the internet. A fire had broken out near Ryvoan Bothy. Going that way seemed unwise so I walked up Craigellachie above Aviemore instead. The wood shone in the sunshine. The sky was blue. It was a lovely day. Except that once out of the trees I could see the smoke again, more smoke now, filling the sky above the Ryvoan Pass. This looked bad, this looked serious. It was.

View of the smoke from home. Day 7.

Over the next few weeks whenever I looked out of my study window I could see the smoke. Every day I thought of all the people fighting the fire and felt thanks. Every day I felt sorrow, knowing that a place I love will not look the same the next time I visit, will be burnt, blackened, and scarred. I think of the wildlife that will have perished. And I think of climate change and of the fires burning all over the world and wonder what have we done?

Those weeks it was hard to concentrate on anything else. Every day I followed the story on social media and on the news. I’ve watched videos, looked at pictures, read reports.

Dava Moor after the fire.

A year ago it was the same. Then a much bigger fire, the biggest ever in the UK, burned Dava Moor to the north of Grantown-on-Spey. That fire was out of sight of home but much, much closer. We could smell the smoke and at times see it drifting low over the nearby forest. Not knowing how close it might come we made plans to evacuate quickly. It stopped five miles away. I wrote about it here.

Dava Moor detail.

Although far larger the Dava Fire didn’t attract the same attention as the Abernethy – Ryvoan fire. It wasn’t in a popular tourist area, it was mostly outside the Cairngorms National Park, although it did just cross the border (see map here), it didn’t threaten communities, though it came close. It was on low gently undulating moorland mostly used for grouse shooting and sheep grazing with some areas of planted forestry (it’s noteworthy that the areas of muirburn didn’t stop the fire). The main attraction for visitors is lovely Lochindorb with its ruined castle on an island and its birdlife.

Lochindorb with smoke from the Dava Moor fire

The Dava Fire was declared out after just four days. The Abernethy-Ryvoan Fire lasted over four weeks and even after that there were hotspots. Two months later and the core area of the fire is still closed to the public as dangerous trees and debris are cleared. Looking at the map it’s easy to see why the much bigger fire could be dealt with so much faster. Dava Moor is almost flat open terrain. Much of the Abernethy-Ryvoan fire was on steep slopes and narrow valleys covered in dense forest or heather and rocks.  As I know, this is difficult ground to move over away from paths. Fighting a fire here must have been extremely difficult.

The much greater attention given to the Abernethy-Ryvoan Fire means that much discussion is being given to what needs to be done to reduce the likelihood of future fires – and there will be future fires as the effects of climate change grow – being so devastating. Plans are being drawn up which I hope will actually lead to action. This should really have been done after the Dava Fire but nobody outside the area was much interested in that. I’ve talked to a surprising number of people since who hadn’t even heard of if but knew about the Abernethy-Ryvoan Fire.

Cotton grass on Dava Moor a year after the fire.

In May this year I walked the Dava Way from Grantown-on-Spey to Forres as part of the Moray Way (see this post). This took me through the area of the fire. Whilst there was much blackened ground and many burnt trees I was heartened to see that much of the open moor was white with one of the most extensive areas of cotton grass I've ever seen. Life was returning.

Two months after the Abernethy-Ryvoan Fire I returned to the area. Until then I’d walkd in other areas of the Cairngorms. (Despite what some news reports said the fire was only in a very small part of the national park). Part of me was reluctant to go back. The pictures were horrific enough. I couldn’t go into the fire area itself. This was still closed. But I could go up Meall a’ Bhuachaille, right on its edge, and look across it. I took camping gear, deciding to combine the visit with a night out in the hills.

View back down to Loch Morlich

The sky was cloudy, the forest stuffy and humid. I was glad to feel a breeze as I left the trees. There were many fungi lining the path. The heather was a brilliant purple, at the height of its summer display. Across Loch Morlich dark clouds tore across the hills. Soon I could look across the forest to blackened slopes around Coire Laogh Mor. The burnt area stretched up to the Coire na Ciste car park. Higher up it stopped at the path up the ridge on the east side of the corrie. The fire must have been weakening here for a narrow footpath to block it.

View from Meall a' Bhuachaille to Coire na Ciste

From the blustery summit of Meall a’Bhuachaille I could see more of the extent of the fire, how it had spread across Strath Nethy to the lower slopes of Bynack Beg and east into Abernethy Forest. I knew it had burned in the Ryvoan Pass, on the eastern side of Meall a’ Bhuachaille, and along Strath Nethy but these were hidden from the summit. Notices on the path down to Ryvoan Bothy said that way was closed. The view was sobering but not unexpected. The year before I’d seen the aftermath of the Dava Moor fire. This looked the same, just on steep slopes.

View from Meall a'Bhuachaille to the edge of Abernethy Forest

I’ve been up Meall a’ Bhuachaille many, many times over the years. This was the first time I hadn’t gone up or down via Ryvoan though. I turned away from the devastation and headed down the hill. A couple of runners passed me. A lone backpacker with a dog was sitting in the heather. “I think they’re crazy, they think we’re crazy” she said, seeing my big pack. This, she told me, would be only her second night wild camping. Before I dropped off the wide ridge I could see her pitching a green tent high on the hillside.

With the wind picking up I was looking for a more sheltered site. Finding one was not as easy as I hoped. The tussocky heather high up I expected. Not far down though I came across an area that had been clear-cut so many years earlier that the tree stumps and whitened dead branches were half-buried in thick heather and long grass. Crunching through these was slow and arduous.

A somewhat sheltered, somewhat flat camp.

When I reached the burn that would be my camp water supply I was still in the felled debris. I had to descend a fair way before I came to actual living trees and a small patch of not too bumpy ground that would just do for the tent. Down here it was now calm and rain was starting to fall. As soon as I stopped the midges came out so I was inside with the doors closed as quickly as possible, especially as I was showing rather a large amount of bare leg, my admittedly ancient trousers having split almost from waist to knee as I pitched the tent.

Oops!

The trousers were clearly unrepairable, or at least well beyond skills. My only spare ones were my waterproof overtrousers so I’d have to wear these. I was glad I’d had to come further down the hill to find a site as this meant a shorter walk the next day. I was also, for once, hoping it would rain. At least I was comfortable in camp.

It did rain too, most of the night, but it stopped soon after dawn. However a gusty wind had sprung up which kept off the midges and which I hoped wouldn’t make the overtrousers too unbearable. The trousers did have full-length side zips and leaving these open from thigh to knee kept my legs cool. In fact the trousers were quite comfortable, though I expect they wouldn’t have been if it had been calmer and warmer.

Fly Agaric.

The walk back to the car through the forest was uneventful. Near the camp there were some sizeable deciduous trees still in cracked and splitting plastic tubes that should really have been removed long ago. The trees, mostly willow, seemed healthy enough though. Lower down more fungi, especially Fly Agaric, decorated the sides of the forest track. It was peaceful down here. I relaxed, forgetting for a short while fires and the future.

I made a video of the trip, mostly about the camping.

The Dava Moor Fires

Wildfires are dangerous, destructive, and terrifying. We all know that. When one comes close to your home it all becomes much more real though.  This has just happened with wildfires where I live, one coming just eight kilometres from our house. The fires raged for four days before being declared over. All the local roads were closed. There are many other isolated dwellings in the area.

The first inkling I had of a fire was driving home from Aviemore on a cloudy day. Approaching the house I noticed the towering clouds had a strange colour to them. Must be the sun, I thought. Later my partner said she could smell smoke. A search on social media showed reports of one or two or maybe three wildfires burning not far away.

Finding information was difficult. It was the weekend when local news tends to shut down. Initially our only source of news was social media, especially Facebook group Grantown Grapevine and page Highlands, Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire Weather. This is where social media is really valuable.  From a series of posts we learnt about the extent and whereabouts of the fires. Some info was confusing as no-one had a clear picture of what was happening but overall a general picture built up. Gradually more became known. A NASA satellite image was posted showing the location of the fires. One was certainly too close for comfort. The wind, thankfully, was blowing it away from us.

By the end of the second day traditional media was catching up and local newspapers, TV and radio were reporting the fires. Once the weekend was over national media joined in. There were also reports from Highland Council, Police Scotland, and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service about the state of the fires and the road closures.

On day 3 the wind changed and blew from the direction of the fires. Soon we could see and smell smoke in the fields outside. Not knowing exactly where the nearest fire was or how fast it was moving we discussed what we’d take with us if we had to evacuate. With rain forecast for the evening we checked the weather forecast constantly. We wanted that rain so much! Late in the evening it arrived and we relaxed, a little.

-All this time firefighters, estate workers, and volunteers were fighting the fires, a huge effort for which we are very thankful. There was a great community effort to support them too. The disaster brought everyone together. With all the roads closed we decided the best thing we could do was stay put and not risk getting in anybody’s way.

Thankfully no-one was hurt or killed and, as far as I know, no property damaged or destroyed. The fires were on Dava Moor a large area of moorland mostly used for grouse shooting and sheep with a few areas of woodland to the north of the Cairngorms National Park. Few people live there. It could so easily have been much worse.

It’s bad for the wildlife of the area though, much of which will have perished. Any that survived will have to find new habitats as it will be a while before plant life returns.

The day after the emergency was declared over I went to see the aftermath. It was as shocking as I expected, huge areas of moorland burnt black, trees dead and scorched. Mile after mile of devastation. The smell of smoke still hung in the air. Across Lochindorb the ground still smouldered, trails of windblown white smoke rippling across the blackened earth. A helicopter was still at work, catching water from the loch to dump on the hot ground and dampen down the chance of the fire reviving. The ground is covered in peat. This can remain hot underground long after the last flames have gone and then burst out again. Ensuring it is thoroughly soaked is essential.

All the pictures with this piece were taken the day after the fires were declared over.

How the fires started isn’t yet known. The police and fire service are carrying out an investigation. There’s much speculation online, of course. As I have no information I’m staying out of this. I think it’s best to wait for the official report. What is clear though is that climate change makes such fires more likely, with more extreme weather, including long dry spells, occurring more often. No single event can be put down to climate change but an increase in them can. Sadly, that means that more fires like this are almost certain to occur.

Climate change doesn’t directly cause fires of course, just makes them more likely. As there were no thunderstorms in the area these weren’t lightning caused fires. They were undoubtedly human caused.

Now there are many ways people can cause fires to start on bone dry vegetation including the sun shining through discarded glass, discarded still lit cigarette butts, lack of care with disposable barbecues (which should be banned), and, of course, abandoned and badly sited campfires. Great care needs to be taken with anything that could cause a fire.

Campfires have definitely been the cause of some destructive fires in many areas, and their use seems to be on the increase. Certainly I’ve found and dismantled more rings of rocks and tried to remove traces of fires far more often in recent years.  Rangers report the same and there are many reports on social media of campfire problems. Usually these have been in unsuitable places – on grass, under trees, on peaty ground.

Badly sited campfires cause damage apart from the risk of starting a wildfire. Rings of stones pockmark grass and burnt earth takes years to recover. Too often branches are broken or hacked off living trees, showing a lack of knowledge as green wood doesn’t burn easily. Standing and fallen dead wood is needed ecologically too, especially in areas without many trees.

I don’t think there’s any need to have campfire in Britain. If people do insist on one then it should be on a campsite that allows them, or the builder should know when and how to make one that is no risk to the surroundings and leaves no trace. If you don’t know how to do that don’t build a campfire.

I also think that campfires should not be promoted on social media, something that is unfortunately too common. I think doing so is irresponsible. Even if the fire fulfils the above criteria those copying it may not have the same skills or knowledge. Spreading the idea that campfires are an integral part of camping is wrong. They’re not, at least not in Britain.