Evacuations continue after major incident declared for Cairngorms wildfire
Evacuations and smoke advisories have continued after Police Scotland declared a major incident as emergency services battle a wildfire in the Cairngorms National Park.
In an update on Saturday morning, Police Scotland said residents in a small area of properties north-west of Dorback Lodge (Lain Thatchan) have been evacuated as a precaution.
It comes after homes around Nethy Bridge were evacuated on Friday night.
A smoke advisory is also in place for Tomintoul, where residents have been advised to keep windows and doors closed due to smoke from the wildfire.
“If you are affected by smoke, stay indoors where possible, keep windows and doors closed, and avoid strenuous outdoor activity,” Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said.
SFRS has also requested more heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, to help with the response.
“Operators who can provide suitable plant machinery to support the ongoing multi-agency response are asked to report to the Village Hall in Nethy Bridge,” SFRS said.
On Saturday, emergency services said there were nine fire appliances at the scene, supported by specialist wildfire resources.
Emergency services previously said that significantly changed weather conditions, including stronger winds, have contributed to the unpredictable behaviour of the blaze.
SFRS said it has maintained a “significant operational response” since the wildfire was first reported on July 15.
More than 500 firefighters have tackled the blaze over the last 10 days, alongside specialist wildfire appliances, all-terrain vehicles, helicopter water-bombing operations and partner agencies.
The update came after First Minister John Swinney chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) on Friday night.
The meeting was attended by several ministers and representatives from emergency services, including SFRS and Police Scotland.
On Friday, the First Minister 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.”
His comments came as smoke from the wildfire near Glenmore drifted as far as Aberdeen due to changing wind conditions.
The fire, which broke out near the village of Glenmore on Wednesday last week, led to residents and campsites being evacuated.
It covered about six square kilometres of heather and small trees at its height.
Evacuated residents are being directed to a dedicated respite centre at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort.
Members of the public are asked to avoid affected areas in the Cairngorms National Park. SFRS said the area remains unsafe due to firefighting operations, rapidly changing fire conditions and helicopter activity.
Published: by Radio NewsHub