Residents in the Scottish Highlands have been told to “leave your pets and go” as an “apocalyptic” wildfire tears through Cairngorms National Park, part of a wider crisis that has driven a quarter of a million people from their homes across Southern Europe.
The vast blaze near Nethy Bridge has burned for 10 days, with more than 500 firefighters on the scene. Police Scotland declared a major incident after a change in wind conditions accelerated the flames, prompting precautionary evacuations. Community council chairman Sandy McCook described the scene as “apocalyptic”, saying villagers were left “upset, angry and frustrated”.
“Scottish residents told to abandon pets as Cairngorms wildfire rages, while Europe faces mass evacuations”
Duncan Ferguson, a resident in Glenmore near Aviemore, said police visited his property last Wednesday and gave the stark instruction: “leave your pets and go”. He added: “It’s going to be bad, it’s going to be major unless they get hold of it. … Once it comes down into there, it’s dry, dry ground, with a real load to burn. It’s just going to get hotter and hotter.” The smoke has since shifted towards Aberdeenshire and the North Sea, but Ferguson said the flames remained “very plain to see” from the outskirts of Nethy Bridge.
The Scottish government has requested aerial support from the UK military to boost the response. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service advised those affected to stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed, and avoid strenuous outdoor activity. Operators with suitable plant machinery were asked to report to the village hall in Nethy Bridge.
Meanwhile, wildfires across Southern Europe have forced around 250,000 people to flee. In southwestern France, the interior minister warned of a “long and very difficult battle” against a massive fire that has prompted the government to send in soldiers and forced evacuations in the suburbs of Bordeaux. Spain declared its first ever national emergency over a wildfire, with a major fire west of Madrid already driving 70,000 people from their homes. In Sicily, firefighters are tackling numerous individual blazes.
The combined emergencies stretch resources across the continent, leaving communities in the Highlands questioning whether the response has been swift enough to prevent the fire reaching the dry Caledonian pine forest — a prospect Ferguson called “major” unless the blaze is brought under control quickly.