Wildfire forces evacuations as major incident declared in Cairngorms

Police Scotland has declared a major incident and ordered evacuations around Nethy Bridge as shifting winds and dry conditions exacerbate a massive wildfire in the Cairngorms.

The blaze, which first broke out near Ryvoan Bothy, south of Nethy Bridge on July 15, has begun spreading after nine days of firefighting efforts.

A sudden shift in weather conditions bringing stronger winds has caused unpredictable flare-ups, pushing the fire towards properties and woodland in Strathnethy, home to around 600 residents.

Locals in and around Nethy Bridge have left their homes, with emergency services directing evacuees to a respite centre set up at the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel.

Abernethy community council leader Sandy McCook is helping with the operation.

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“Police are currently evacuating half of Nethy Bridge, south of the River Nethy, before moving to the north side of the river,” he told STV News. “The fire is still bearing down on us with apocalyptic scenes of smoke.

“It’s burning out of control in Abernethy Forest and has hit the hills surrounding it.”

Access roads into Nethy Bridge have been closed, with police officers on the ground contacting residents and enforcing cordons around restricted zones.

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.

Nethy Bridge residents are being evacuated STV News

“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.

“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.”

First Minister John Swinney urged the public to strictly respect exclusion zones.

The wildfire on Thursday night as Police Scotland declares major incident STV News

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.”

Since the fire began, more than 500 firefighters have been deployed alongside specialist wildfire units, all-terrain vehicles, local estate workers, and gamekeepers. Helicopter water-bombing operations remain central to the response, as vast swathes of the fire ground remain completely inaccessible by foot or vehicle.

At its peak, the fire engulfed roughly six square kilometres of heather and woodland.

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.

Road closures around Nethy Bridge STV News

“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.”

The impact of the fire is also being felt across a large portion of eastern Scotland. A thick smoke plume caused by changing wind directions has drifted nearly 60 miles east, deteriorating air quality and reducing visibility as far away as Aberdeen.

Warnings have been issued for residents across Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen to keep doors and windows closed until the smoke is dispersed.

Members of the public are also asked to stay away from the Cairngorms National Park exclusion zones to allow emergency crews to conduct operations safely.

Closed and restricted areas include:

Paths around Glenmore, Loch Morlich and Badaguish.

Low-level routes including the Old Logging Way and routes providing access to Cairngorm Mountain, the Northern Corries, Meall A’ Bhuachaille, the Green Loch (Lochan Uaine), Strath Nethy or Bynack More.
Paths within Abernethy Forest to the south of Forest Lodge towards Ryvoan Bothy also remain closed.