Main island road reopens following fire in historic castle grounds

Fire: Main roads around Stornoway were closed as the blaze spread.Rhona Johnstone

The main road out of Stornoway has reopened after fire broke out in the grounds of Lews Castle.

Heavy smoke from the fire affected the A859 Stornoway to Harris road (Lochs Road), on the Isle of Lewis, and caused police to close it to traffic on Thursday afternoon.

A spokesman for Northern Constabulary said the road was reopened just before 10pm, nearly eight hours after thick smoke forced its closure.

"Drivers should proceed with caution as the fire is still ongoing and smoke is still affecting the carriageway," the spokesman said.

Police were called to the castle grounds at around 2.10pm to find gorse and heather on fire at Arnish, close to the castle grounds.

Five fire crews attended the incident, which is in a different location from another blaze in the area which damaged around 2,000 trees last Friday.

At one point the blaze spread to a front of more than 200 yards.

Local diversions routed traffic via the west side of the island, a detour of approximately 30 miles.

The fire comes as the Western Isles has recorded one of its driest periods of weather in recent years with just 4% of normal June rainfall.


View Locator map for fire in the grounds of Lews Castle, Stornoway in a larger map

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