Rain brings hope of relief for crews fighting Cairngorms wildfire

There is a hope cooler weather and rain has helped to prevent further spread of a wildfire that has been burning in the Cairngorms for two weeks.

About 70 firefighters and nine fire appliances remain at the scene, 13 days after the start of the fire that has burned through about 10 sq miles (25 sq km) - and saw some homes in Nethy Bridge evacuated at the weekend.

Sandy McCook, Nethy Bridge Community Council chairman, said it was hoped rain that fell overnight and during Tuesday would make a "huge difference".

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said crews were tackling hotspots and any flare ups.

The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) said people should avoid the Glenmore, Abernethy and Loch Morlich areas because they were unsafe due to the firefighting operation.

Helicopters are still being used to waterbomb smouldering moor and woodland.

SFRS said cooler weather and rain was assisting the firefighting effort, which has included help from volunteers.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware that there is a widespread and often strong smell of smoke throughout the area and beyond. This is due to low lying cloud cover preventing proper dispersal of smoke at ground level.

"Please be assured that there is no immediate risk to public health, however we would always advise anyone affected by smoke to close their windows and doors as a precaution."

They added: "Please be aware that even though active firefighting might not be happening in a particular area, road closures and cordons will remain in place to allow access to heavy machinery and other operational work for the safety of the public."

Days of dry and windy weather have made conditions challenging for fire crews and volunteers tackling flames burning across peatland moors and in woodland.

Sandy McCook said residents in Nethy Bridge hoped a change in the weather would help efforts to tackle remaining hotspots.

He said: "The overnight and continuing rain today will undoubtedly make a huge difference to the firefighting."

McCook added: "There is a distinct smell of smoke around but that will be from the rain and lack of wind."

The community council has helped to raise more than £50,500 from donations to cover the costs of meals for firefighters and volunteers.

CNPA said the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) reported on Monday evening there had been a reduction in visible flames, but warned large areas were still smouldering.

The park authority said the fire was still burning deep in the peat soil.

It added that helicopters, sourced and funded by Forestry and Land Scotland, would continue water bombing on Tuesday, assisted by drones equipped with thermal cameras to detect hotspots.

The fire broke out near the village of Glenmore, outside Aviemore, on 15 July and led to residents and campsites being evacuated.

At its height, more than 500 firefighters were involved in the response and Police Scotland declared it a "major incident" on Friday.

An image of the wildfire was captured by SatVu's HotSat-2 satellite at 04:39 on Monday.

SatVu said the picture showed fire fronts moving north in the Abernethy National Nature Reserve, one of the area's affected by the incident.

The company said that behind the most intense "flaming zones",the fire had left a trail of burning vegetation.

Some local groups have been critical of ministers for being slow in scaling up the response to the fire.

On Monday, Scotland's justice secretary denied trying start a political row after rejecting an offer of UK military support to tackle a major wildfire in the Cairngorms.

The UK government said it would provide military helicopters for heavy lifting, along with support from stand-by battalions, after a major incident was declared at the weekend.

But Neil Gray, whose ministerial responsibilities include the fire service, said it had been unable to fulfil a "specific request" for water-bombing helicopters and that firefighters on the ground had the resources which were needed.

The Scottish Greens have called for an emergency fund to be set up to support communities responding to wildfires and provide for businesses suffering cancellations and closures.

MSP Ariane Burgess said: "Wildfires of this scale are not going away.

"Our changing climate is making extreme conditions more frequent, and government support must become planned, permanent and ready to deploy, not improvised after the flames have already spread."