Firefighters Tackle Wildfire Spreading Across Cairngorms National Park

Firefighters are continuing to tackle a wildfire in Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service urged people to avoid the area and said residents in Aviemore, Glenmore and surrounding areas should keep their doors and windows closed due to the smoke.

The fire took hold at Ryvoan Bothy at Nethy Bridge at about 11:50 on Wednesday and has spread across 2kms of dry land.

Villagers, campsites and ski resorts have been evacuated in the Cairngorms National Park area. Police said the evacuations were carried out as a precaution and that the C7 road, known locally as Ski Road, has been closed. Four appliances remain at the scene.

He added that warm, high winds had contributed to the spread and that the operational response would be scaled back overnight during hours of darkness to monitor conditions. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said there were no reported casualties. Members of the public are being urged to avoid Glenmore Forest Park and Loch Morlich.

A very high risk of wildfire is in place for the central Highlands, southern and eastern Scotland. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds sent all staff on duty to the scene because the blaze is on the southern boundary of the Loch Garten Nature Reserve in Abernethy. The fire is not a risk to ospreys located about six miles away.

Capercaillie have been spotted near Ryvoan as recently as May. A visitor centre running guided reindeer trips said the animals had been let out onto the mountains and are not close to the fire.