
WILDFIRES raging across the country signal communities across Scotland are on the front line of the climate crisis, according to one Green MSP.
The comments come as fire crews continue to battle a blaze in West Lothian which broke out at the weekend. A helicopter and around 50 firefighters were dispatched to woodland outside the town of Fauldhouse on Saturday afternoon, and remained there a day later as the fire continued to rage.
Warning locals to keep windows and doors closed due to the noxious smoke, a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 11.43am on Saturday to reports of a large outdoor fire affecting a remote area of forest near Fauldhouse, West Lothian, we currently have nine appliances on scene as firefighters continue to work to extinguish the fire.”

When it comes to extreme weather events, from wildfires to flash floods, it’s firefighters who are on the front line of defence, but services have been cut to the bone, and government is not taking seriously its responsibility for the environment, says STEVE WRIGHT