'Significant progress' in tackling Cairngorms blaze as wildfire 'contained'

Firefighters have said “significant progress” has been made in tackling a wildfire in the Cairngorms, which has been raging since Wednesday.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said weather conditions had been “very favourable” on Saturday morning, allowing officers to “attack the fire in earnest”.

Meanwhile, Cairngorms National Park service said the news was “very encouraging”, adding it hoped residents and campers displaced by the incident would be able to gain access to the area later today.

The wildfire was first reported on Wednesday after smoke was seen near Ryvoan Bothy on the RSPB Scotland’s Abernethy Estate. Flames have since spread through about four square kilometres of land saddling the charity’s nature reserve and Forestry and Land Scotland terrain nearby.

Mar Lodge Estate, the UK’s largest nature reserve at 9,340 hectares, was closed to visitors at the weekend and fire fighters battled to contain the blaze.

In addition to six conventional fire appliances, two all-terrain vehicles, a Wildfire Support Unit and a water carrier helicopter are all still at the scene. Water has been pumped from Loch Morlich to support operations, which have been attended by more than 100 firefighters.

SFRS assistant chief officer Jon Henderson said: “The conditions have been very, very favourable, which has allowed us to really start to attack the fire in earnest and continue to contain it.

“The terrain is treacherous, it's inaccessible at times, and it's very, very difficult and very dangerous.”

However, he warned that while progress was being made, "contained did not mean the same as extinguished".

“We're very positive about where we are now, but those things can't change very quickly, and we need to remember that we're dealing with a fire in a mountain range.” he said.

Firefighters tackling the Cairngorms wildfire. | RSPB Scotland/PA Wire

"Contained means that effectively that we understand the behaviour of the fire and the fire isn't out to control.

"We work harder to contain it in certain areas and allow it to travel into other areas where we know that we're able to tackle it.

"Even when the fire is extinguished, there will still be hotspots of the fire and we'll probably still be there for a protracted period of days, just making sure that we keep on top of that."

He said the team had benefitted from low wind and light rain early on Saturday.

Ben Jones, RSPB Scotland’s Abernethy site manager, said yesterday had been “significantly damper”, which he said was a “big help”.

Members of the public have been asked to avoid Glenmore, Abernethy, Loch Morlich and the surrounding areas, while homes and businesses, including campsites and a ski resort in the Glenmore Forest Park area, have been evacuated as a safety precaution.

He said: “The fire is no longer advancing, certainly on Abernethy’s ground and, it’s understood, across the fire zone.

“We’re hoping we’re nearing the end of this event, but there are still hotspots throughout the fire zone and we’re by no means out of the woods yet.”

On Thursday, community leaders, landowners and gamekeepers called out the Scottish Government after minister, Neil Gray, described the fire as “contained”.

Cairngorms National Park Service said it was hoped people displaced by the fire would be able to return to the area.

Gavin Miles, director of planning and place at the Park Authority, said: “News from Glenmore this morning is very encouraging, with colleagues from SFRS indicating that the fire is now largely surrounded. This is, though, still a live situation and teams are still very active on the ground, so we are taking nothing for granted at this stage.

“We’re really grateful for the continued efforts of everyone helping fight the fire in Glenmore, and for the cooperation of local residents, visitors and businesses at what I know is a very difficult time. The Ski Road and surrounding areas are likely to be off-limits for some time to come given the sheer number of people and machinery on-site, but we’re hopeful that residents and campers directly impacted by the exclusion zone will be able to gain access later today.”