‘Major incident’ declared as huge Cairngorms National Park wildfire rages towards homes
Nearby homes have been evacuated 999 crews desperately battle the wildfire.
A major incident has been declared as firefighters battle a wildfire at Cairngorms National Park (Image: Highland, Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire Weather/Facebook)
Police Scotland has declared a major incident as emergency services continue to battle a wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park. It comes amid warnings that significantly changed weather conditions, including stronger winds, have contributed to the increasingly unpredictable behaviour of the blaze. Homes around Nethy Bridge have now been evacuated as a precaution.
Residents are being directed to a dedicated respite centre at the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel, and access roads into Nethy Bridge have been closed. Superintendent Judy Hill said: “The weather conditions experienced within the Cairngorms over the last 24 hours have added further complexities to this situation. With evidence suggesting the fire is spreading towards Nethy Bridge, the decision has been taken to declare a major incident and evacuate residents as a precaution. Additional police resources are being deployed to assist in contacting those who need to leave their properties and to maintain cordons around restricted areas while our fire service colleagues continue to tackle the wildfire.
More than 500 firefighters have tackled the blaze over the last nine days (Image: Getty)
“We understand this is a very concerning time for residents, businesses and visitors to the Cairngorms region.
“Please be assured that the multi-agency response remains fully committed to bringing this incident to a safe conclusion as quickly as possible.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it has continued to mount a significant response since the wildfire was first reported on July 15.
Over the past nine days, more than 500 firefighters have been involved in efforts to contain the blaze, supported by specialist wildfire units, all-terrain vehicles, helicopter water-bombing operations and a range of partner agencies working alongside emergency crews.
Deputy assistant chief officer Kenny Barbour said: “Our firefighters, specialist resources and partners have worked tirelessly over the past nine days to respond to this challenging and complex wildfire incident.
Homes around Nethy Bridge have now been evacuated as a precaution. (Image: Getty)
“The combination of prolonged dry conditions, strengthening winds and challenging terrain has created an extremely complex operational environment.
“Large areas of the fire ground are inaccessible by vehicle or on foot, making helicopter water-bombing operations and specialist wildfire tactics essential to our response.”
He added: “We recognise this is an extremely worrying time for those affected, particularly residents who have been asked to leave their homes.
“Public safety remains our absolute priority, and we ask everyone to continue following the advice of Police Scotland and to stay away from the affected areas while firefighting operations remain ongoing.”
Scottish First Minister John Swinney urged people to respect the exclusion zones around the fire.
He told the Press Association: “I would obviously ask people in the region to follow all of the advice that is available and to respect the exclusion zone that’s been put in place.
“This is an incident that we felt was moving in a positive direction earlier this week, but with the change of weather circumstances – which is an illustration of just the scale and difficulty of the situation that we are managing – it has moved in the other direction.”
