Crap Towns / Alness / Deliberate fires

How many fires get started on purpose in Alness?

There were 15.3 deliberate fires per 10,000 people a year in Alness from April 2023 to March 2026, 31% lower than the typical Scottish town's 22.3. The most common were other outdoor fires, at 7.0. In 2025/26 it was 14.4, up from 13.1 in 2023/24.

**Over time**
Period	Here	Typical Scottish town
2023/24	13.1	22.6
2024/25	18.4	20.4
2025/26	14.4	19.0

**What was set alight**
Fire	Here	Typical Scottish town
Other outdoor fires	7.0	5.0
Grass, woods and crops set on fire	6.9	6.2
Bins and rubbish set on fire	1.5	8.2

**Nearby towns**
Town	Distance	Fires per 10,000 people a year
Elgin	56.7 km	16.6
Alness	–	15.3
Wick	108.6 km	13.8
Dingwall	14.9 km	11.0
Buckie	77.2 km	10.7
Inverness	25.4 km	9.8
Lossiemouth	57.4 km	5.5
Westhill	25.5 km	5.3
Nairn	26.2 km	4.7
Thurso	108.7 km	3.5
Forres	39.8 km	3.2
The typical Scottish town	–	22.3