Site of Cairngorms wildfire could take 'centuries' to recover, says village chair

The community chair of a village in the Highlands has said the area will take “centuries” to recover from a wildfire that burned in the Cairngorms.

Homes around Nethy Bridge were evacuated due to the blaze, which first broke out near Ryvoan Bothy, south of the village, on July 15.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews are continuing to dampen down hotspots within the area, which was declared a major incident after it burned thousands of acres of moor and woodland.

At its peak, the fire engulfed roughly six square kilometres of heather and woodland.

‘Area devastated by fire’

Sandy McCook, chairman of Nethy Bridge and Vicinity Community Council, said he visited the site this week with a manager from the RSPB charity.

He said there has been a “marked reduction” in the temperature at the spots, but the area will take “centuries and decades” to fully recover.

“There is a modicum of good news from the forest, as the heat-sensing drones this morning could only identify six hotspots at approximately 50 degrees, which is a marked reduction in recent days when it was still over one hundred”, he shared in a statement.

There has been a reduction in temperature at hotspots Nethy Bridge – Community via Supplied

“The area had very clearly been devastated by this fire, which will take decades and centuries to recover. However, I was greatly heartened to see a number of ‘islands’ within the burnt landscape.

“Damping down continues with spotters watching for any recurrence of the fire. There are areas where the trees have been completely burnt, exposing roots which are now several feet off the ground, as the mosses and needles have burnt away.”

Due to the fire, access roads into Nethy Bridge were closed, with police officers on the ground contacting residents and enforcing cordons around restricted zones.

Members of the public were also asked to stay away from the Cairngorms National Park exclusion zones to allow emergency crews to conduct operations safely.

Much of the area remains devastated Nethy Bridge – Community via Supplied

Mr McCook has criticised the closing of certain roads within the area, however admitted the damage “could have been worse”.

“Contractors have widened roads but in a very sympathetic manner”, he added. “A lot of roadsides have been cut back by Robocutter.

“Old roads have been reopened to form firebreaks and fit as well as can be expected, and will very soon blend in and not look like open scars. The contractors are to be congratulated on their work.

“Some of these roads should never have been closed up in the first place, as was warned many years ago. The worst scar is between Ryvoan and Abernethy Forest. It is intended, however, that this will be tidied up in the coming weeks. Black grouse were around Ryvoan and apparently had been coming and going throughout.

“There is still a lot of water and work being put in to the Ice Woods where the most dangerous trees are located.

“I am not belittling the tragedy in any way but it depends whether your glass is half full or half empty. I take the former view and having seen the area know that it could have been so much worse. We have been very, very fortunate.”

A warning was issued across parts of Scotland on Wednesday over the “very high” risk of wildfires this week.

It comes following a wildfire at Lochore Meadows Country Park in Fife, with visitors reporting still seeing smoke and hotspots in the affected area.

The warning covers the eastern parts of the Highlands and also eastern and southern Scotland from Wednesday until Thursday.