Police Scotland has declared a major incident as emergency services continue to battle a significant wildfire raging through the Cairngorms National Park.
The blaze’s behaviour has become increasingly unpredictable, exacerbated by warnings of drastically changed weather conditions, including stronger winds.
As a precautionary measure, homes around Nethy Bridge have been evacuated, with residents directed to a dedicated respite centre at the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel.
Access roads leading into Nethy Bridge are now closed to the public.
Superintendent Judy Hill said: “The weather conditions experienced within the Cairngorms over the last 24 hours have added further complexities to this situation.
“With evidence suggesting the fire is spreading towards Nethy Bridge, the decision has been taken to declare a major incident and evacuate residents as a precaution.
“Additional police resources are being deployed to assist in contacting those who need to leave their properties and to maintain cordons around restricted areas while our fire service colleagues continue to tackle the wildfire.
“We understand this is a very concerning time for residents, businesses and visitors to the Cairngorms region.
“Please be assured that the multi-agency response remains fully committed to bringing this incident to a safe conclusion as quickly as possible.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it has maintained a “significant operational response” since the wildfire was first reported on July 15.
More than 500 firefighters have tackled the blaze over the last nine days, alongside specialist wildfire appliances, all-terrain vehicles, helicopter water-bombing operations and partner agencies.
Deputy assistant chief officer Kenny Barbour said: “Our firefighters, specialist resources and partners have worked tirelessly over the past nine days to respond to this challenging and complex wildfire incident.
“The combination of prolonged dry conditions, strengthening winds and challenging terrain has created an extremely complex operational environment.
“Large areas of the fire ground are inaccessible by vehicle or on foot, making helicopter water-bombing operations and specialist wildfire tactics essential to our response.”
He added: “We recognise this is an extremely worrying time for those affected, particularly residents who have been asked to leave their homes. Public safety remains our absolute priority, and we ask everyone to continue following the advice of Police Scotland and to stay away from the affected areas while firefighting operations remain ongoing.”
Members of the public are asked to avoid the affected areas within the Cairngorms National Park. The SFRS said the area remains unsafe due to active firefighting operations, rapidly changing fire conditions and helicopter activity.
First Minister John Swinney urged people to respect the exclusion zones around the fire.
He told the Press Association: “I would obviously ask people in the region to follow all of the advice that is available and to respect the exclusion zone that’s been put in place.
“This is an incident that we felt was moving in a positive direction earlier this week, but with the change of weather circumstances – which is an illustration of just the scale and difficulty of the situation that we are managing – it has moved in the other direction.”
His comments came as smoke from the ongoing wildfire near Glenmore drifted as far as Aberdeen due to changing wind conditions.
The wildfire, which broke out near the village of Glenmore on Wednesday last week, led to residents and campsites being evacuated.
It covered an area of about six square kilometres of heather and small trees at its height.
