Major incident declared due to Cairngorms wildfire as hundreds of villagers evacuated
High winds and changing weather conditions have caused significant flare-ups and flames to spread further
A major incident has been declared in the Cairngorms National Park after a large-scale wildfire forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Nethy Bridge, a village of around 600 people, was evacuated on Friday night, with residents taken to a respite centre at the nearby Macdonald Aviemore Hotel. Roads into the village were closed as emergency services continue to tackle the flames.
Police Scotland declared the major incident on Friday evening as the fire edged closer to the village.
It came amid calls for military assistance to tackle the wildfire, which broke out in the Glenmore area of the national park more than ten days ago. The blaze has already forced the evacuation of residents, campsites and businesses.
Despite a multi-agency effort to contain the fire, with more than 500 firefighters, estate workers and conservation groups involved in the response so far, high winds on Friday triggered significant flare-ups, causing the flames to spread further.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said substantial smoke had caused poor visibility in the area and drifted as far as Aberdeen, more than 50 miles away.
Superintendent Judy Hill of Police Scotland 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.”
The Scottish government has faced criticism for failing to declare a major incident as the wildfire enters its eleventh day.
Tim Eagle, Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said: “It’s unbelievable that the Scottish Government has failed to declare a major incident themselves after Police Scotland’s announcement of one, with the decision to evacuate all Nethy Bridge residents from their homes.
“The scale of the Scottish Government’s response should match the gravity of the situation, which Police Scotland is hugely concerned about.
“We are now well beyond the initial emergency, which is why the military must be mobilised as a matter of urgency to help control this devastating fire.
“Those fighting these fires on the frontline will be tired and at breaking point, while distraught Nethy Bridge residents are fearful of the flames sweeping towards their homes.
“Enough is enough. John Swinney must take heed of Police Scotland’s major incident and finally step up to declare one himself to ensure every avenue of support is put in place.”
The wildfire has so far scorched at least six square kilometres of heather and woodland. It has also burned through areas of Caledonian pinewood, one of Glenmore's most important habitats and home to species including capercaillie.
Katie Jachacy, who runs the Pine Marten Bar + Scran, one of the businesses forced to evacuate last week, said while conditions improved earlier on in the week, they are now much worse than when the fire first started.
"With this wind having picked up and changing direction they are fighting a losing battle at this point," she told The Scotsman.
"It is really escalating unfortunately. All the areas of fire are smouldering again and it has been burning again in areas that had been put out."
Ms Jachacy said the impact extended beyond the damage to wildlife, with businesses facing a substantial financial blow because of closures and restrictions on visitors travelling to the national park.
"This is the busiest time of the year for us so the whole of the Aviemore area and Cairngorms National Park is haemorrhaging money because no one can come to the area," she said.
"It's a very worrying time for what the future holds."
Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) issued an appeal to its members on Friday on behalf of Firebreak Services, a specialist fire management company, calling for trained operators and heavy plant machinery, including bulldozers and excavators, to help tackle the blaze.
Andrew Baxter, the Liberal Democrat MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, called for more action from the Scottish Government.
"This is a very fast-moving and unpredictable situation, with the fire still raging across the Cairngorms and smoke blowing out to the North East,” he said.
"The Scottish government should be using every lever at its disposal to support the SFRS and help coordinate an effective response.
"The resilience room has been triggered for other wildfires and major weather incidents, so there is no reason why it shouldn't be the same here.”
Yi-pei Chou Turvey, the party's MSP for the North East Scotland region, said: "People in the North East are feeling very concerned by the latest wildfire developments. Many cannot understand why the government has failed to coordinate an emergency response.
"Doing so at an earlier stage could have opened up invaluable resources for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, helping them to tackle the blaze.
"John Swinney should now do the right thing and trigger the emergency response so that fire and rescue teams and local authorities are fully supported."
Earlier on Friday, John Swinney said changing weather had made efforts to tackle the wildfire more difficult.
The First Minister urged people in the affected region to follow advice from the emergency services and respect the exclusion zone around the fire.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Firefighters said miles-long firebreaks had helped to contain the latest break-outs on Thursday night while drones were directing crews to hot spots.
The CNPA said helicopters are also on site targeting key areas.
SFRS’s 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.
"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.
"Throughout this incident, partnership working has been fundamental. I would like to thank Forestry and Land Scotland, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, landowners, estate gamekeepers and our emergency service partners, whose expertise, local knowledge and continued support have been invaluable in helping us protect communities and the natural environment.
"More than 500 firefighters have been mobilised since the incident began, supported by specialist wildfire appliances, all-terrain vehicles, helicopters and partner agencies. We will continue to maintain a significant operational response for as long as it is required.
"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."
The Scottish government has been contacted for comment.
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