Cairngorms Residents Return as Crews Gain Ground on the Fire
Residents evacuated from the village of Nethy Bridge were allowed to return home overnight as firefighters reported “welcome progress” against the large wildfire in the Cairngorms, which was declared a major incident on Saturday. Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, who called it a “very serious situation”, has asked the UK government for military support. Crews warned the blaze was not yet under control.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service kept a significant operation in place as the fire, one of several across a tinder-dry Britain, burned on in the national park, with an information point set up in Nethy Bridge for returning residents. Officials cautioned that conditions could change. The blaze has reignited debate over Scotland’s readiness for wildfires, once a rarity and now increasingly common after repeated heatwaves and the driest spring on record. Conservationists warned of the threat to the Cairngorms’ rare peatlands and wildlife. Watch the containment effort and any renewed evacuations.