First Minister requests military support to fight Cairngorms wildfire

First Minister John Swinney confirmed on Saturday that a request had been made to the Ministry of Defence for aerial support following a second meeting of the government’s resilience room, which was attended by several ministers.

It follows a major incident being declared on Friday night by Police Scotland, with the force confirming on Saturday that it had asked all residents of Nethy Bridge to consider evacuating from their homes as  precaution. Many have stayed on given a change in wind direction, which pushed smoke and flames away from the village.

READ MORE: Major incident declared as Cairngorms wildfire continues to rage

Others have been taken to a makeshift respite centre at the Macdonald Hotel in Aviemore, where some residents slept under tables. Many hotels in the area have cancelled bookings to free up rooms for emergency workers, with some 500 firefighters now deployed to the blaze.

Mr Swinney said the picture was “improving” in the wildfire area but warned “events can change very quickly due to weather conditions”.

The First Minister added: “This remains a major and serious incident, so it is still extremely important that people follow the advice of emergency services and the Cairngorms National Park -  it is essential people avoid the affected areas for safety reasons and to allow responders to focus on tackling the wildfire.

“A request has been made today to the UK Government for military assistance in aerial support that can be used to supplement existing resources that are being deployed to tackle the Cairngorms wildfire and we await a response.”

READ MORE: Scotland ‘must act now’ as threat of wildfire ‘disaster’ looms

Helicopters contracted from private sector have been deployed to fight the fire, which broke out last Wednesday near Ryvoan Bothy close to RSPB’s Abernethy reserve, but there has been frustration on the ground that Scotland has no dedicated wildfire aerial support, and that a helicopter was not available on the day the fire started.

The blaze has continued to burn through miles of moorland, heather and ecologically sensitive land with an army of volunteers assisting in the fight against the fire.

The MOD was considering the request for aerial support on Saturday afternoon.

Sandy McCook, chairman of the Nethy Bridge and Vicinity Community Council, said residents of the Cairngorms village could see large plumes of smoke from the wildfire on Friday before they were evacuated.

Mr McCook said: “Apocalyptic is the word for the pall of smoke that was on the go yesterday.”

The smoke has changed direction, and on Saturday at midday he said it was blowing towards Aberdeenshire and the North Sea, but the flames were still “very plain to see” from the outskirts of Nethy Bridge.

Smoke from the fire could be seen in Stonehaven on Friday night.

On the ground, Mr McCook said there was a major increase in firefighting units from the SFRS in and around the village, plus multiple wildfire response units.

“I think a lot of people are running on adrenaline,” he said.

“A lot of people are upset, angry and frustrated at the ongoing situation because the Scottish Government said a week ago [on Wednesday] that they had enough resources to deal with it, and they said on Thursday that the fire was contained.

“My argument with that is, if you said the fire was contained and you had enough resources last Wednesday and Thursday, why are we still fighting it 10 days later and it’s still running out of control? It is still not controlled in any way shape or form.”

Another resident in Nethy Bridge criticised the emergency response as being like “closing the stable door now that the horse has bolted”.

Residents in a small area of properties north-west of Dorback Lodge (Lain Thatchan) had been evacuated as a precaution.

The Scottish Government said a fire break around the village was established overnight, and new breaks are being constructed as Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) deploys additional resources.

A smoke advisory is also in place for Tomintoul, where residents have been advised to keep windows and doors closed due to smoke from the wildfire.

The spread of the wildfire also led to the cancellation of a large wedding at Castle Roy, a semi ruined 12 th century fortress, near Nethy Bridge, on Saturday.

Around 90 guests had been due to  attend the celebration, with guests travelling from both the US and London for the event, which was called off on Friday night.

It is understood that some guests were forced to move accommodation to free up rooms for emergency services in the area.

Patricia Eccles, a trustee of Castle Roy, said: “It was going to the most fabulous weddings - they had the stretch tents, the caterers, the posh loos and it had to be cancelled.

“It is such a shame as today the weather is beautiful and the smoke is now moving in the other direction.”

Ms Eccles spoke as she watched the fire to the south of the village, which she described as “pretty close”.

She added: “At 8am we were told that we would be compulsory evacuated by noon, but the wind then changed direction. The smoke is now moving in the other direction, which means the fire is now thankfully in the other direction.

“The fire is covering a huge area.

“It was quite frightening last night but we decided to stay because we knew we could move very quickly in our camper van, which is all packed up, if we needed to”.

Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) has praised the exceptional response from its members and the wider rural sector after dozens of land managers, gamekeepers, contractors and rural businesses answered an urgent call for assistance in relation to the Strathnethy wildfire.

The response came within hours of SLE issuing a direct appeal from Firebreak Services Ltd to members on Friday afternoon, resulting in a substantial register of personnel, specialist vehicles, heavy plant, firefighting equipment and logistical support being made available to emergency services should it be required.

Ross Ewing, Director of Moorland and Strategic Projects at Scottish Land & Estates, said: "The response from our members and other businesses has been extraordinary. Within a matter of hours of the appeal being issued, estates, farms, contractors, rural businesses and organisations from across Scotland had registered a significant range of equipment, machinery and experienced personnel ready to assist if required.

"The scale of the response demonstrates both the resilience of rural Scotland and the willingness of land managers to support emergency services and local communities during major incidents.

Mr Ewing added: "This incident serves as another reminder that wildfire is no longer a seasonal or isolated risk. Scotland is experiencing larger, more complex and longer-duration wildfire events, often in difficult terrain and under increasingly challenging weather conditions.

"While the response from firefighters and partner agencies has been exceptional, we believe this event reinforces the case for examining how Scotland can strengthen its long-term wildfire resilience, including access to dedicated aerial firefighting resources and enabling land managers to manage fuels in the landscape.”

SLE thanked the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland, the Cairngorms National Park Authority, helicopter crews, local authorities and all partner organisations involved in the response.

Mr Ewing concluded: "Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this wildfire, particularly those who have had to leave their homes as a precaution.”