'Welcome progress' made in tackling Cairngorms wildfire

'Welcome progress' has been made in tackling a wildfire in the Cairngorms, the first minister has confirmed.

John Swinney was speaking after a meeting of the Scottish government's resilience committee on Sunday.

Swinney said: "Ministers will continue to be updated on the fire and resources and services will remain until the fire is out.

"This wildfire is being treated with the utmost seriousness and necessary resources will be in place until the last flames are out."

He added that the fire service currently had the resources it needed.

The UK government has also offered additional resources to help firefighters if required.

Residents from the Highland village of Nethy Bridge were evacuated from their homes on Friday night, but were allowed to return on Saturday.

At this stage, the fire was no longer considered a major incident, emergency services said.

The blaze has raged for the past 12 days and more than 500 fire fighters have been tackling it.

Police Scotland said a significant emergency services response was ongoing on Sunday.

Supt Judy Hill said: "Substantial resources from police and partners, including three helicopters today, are still being deployed to the area."

She added that emergency services were working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion as soon as possible.

She advised those in the immediate area, and also in the wider area where smoke was drifting, to keep doors and windows closed.

It was announced on Sunday that Abernethy Highland Games would not go ahead because the local community centre is still being used by the emergency services and many of the event's volunteers have been involved in efforts to stop the fire.

Organisers said with "no end point in sight", the decision had been made to cancel the 8 August event.

"It is with great sadness and deep regret that given the ongoing wildfire and its response, the Abernethy Highland Games 2026 have today been cancelled," organisers said in a post on social media.

Held annually in the centre of Nethy Bridge, the event is one of the oldest traditional games in Scotland, according to organisers.

Last year almost 4,000 people attended, and organisers said the games will be back next year.