Tears of despair, anger and frustration have swept through the Highland village of Nethy Bridge as a wildfire that has been called 'apocalyptic' continues to ravage the Cairngorms National Park after 11 days.
Police lifted the evacuation order on Saturday morning, saying the blaze no longer poses an 'immediate threat' to the village of around 700 people. Residents had been escorted from their homes to a dedicated respite centre at the Macdonald Aviemore Resort as towering plumes of smoke closed in.
“Evacuated residents of Nethy Bridge return home as Cairngorms wildfire continues to burn after 11 days, leaving them 'upset and angry'.”
But the relief of returning home has been overshadowed by a deep sense of abandonment. Sandy McCook, chairman of the Nethy Bridge and Vicinity Community Council, told Sky News that villagers feel 'let down' by the government.
'The village is a very sombre place at the moment, with everybody still on edge. Everybody is still worried,' he said. 'There have been tears of despair, tears of anger, tears of frustration in the village.'
McCook described the pall of smoke that hung over the area as 'apocalyptic'. He criticised the Scottish government, saying they claimed on Wednesday they had enough resources to deal with the fire and declared it contained on Thursday – only for the inferno to be declared a 'major incident' on Friday.
Fire officials said the evacuation order was issued because powerful winds were whipping the blaze. With those winds now eased, they lifted the order, but the fire itself is far from out. Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Kenny Barbour insisted: 'Public safety remains our absolute priority. We want to reassure local communities that we will maintain a significant operational response until the incident has been safely concluded.'
Wildfire smoke continues to flow through Aberdeenshire and Moray, causing a sore throat and breathing difficulties for some. A map from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows air quality across north east Scotland is rated 'high'.
The prolonged heatwave that has baked Scotland for months has created perfect 'fire weather', drying out forests and vegetation. Experts have told Metro that the conditions have sparked a 'firewave', with more blazes erupting in urban areas than usual.
For now, Nethy Bridge residents are back in their homes but living under a pall of smoke and uncertainty. As McCook put it: 'A lot of people are upset, angry and frustrated at the ongoing situation.'