Cairngorm residents say wildfire response 'too slow'

Sandy McCook said a major incident should have been declared sooner

People living in the Cairngorms have criticised the handling of a wildfire that has been burning for 10 days.

Residents were evacuated on Friday night after a change in weather sparked fears the blaze was moving towards the village of Nethy Bridge and a major incident was declared.

But locals said the move came too late, and that the Scottish government had been slow in scaling up the response to the incident.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Neil Gray, said: "Throughout this significant incident, the government and the emergency services have given everything to ensuring that the fire is being addressed."

The fire was declared a major incident on Friday, but Nethy Bridge community council leader Sandy McCook said they had been calling for that "for over a week now".

He said: "It was only at 22:00 last night that that was decided. The hotel dining room was taken over at 04:00 this morning by the fire service."

McCook said there were about 20 fire appliances in the village, two helicopters in the skies above and "bulldozers tearing the heart out of Abernethie Forest", which he described as a "very necessary evil", but one that "could have been stopped".

Locals have praised the efforts of those on the ground tackling the wildfire

He said: "We had the opportunity to get this fire out last Wednesday, the day it happened.

"It was first reported it was the size of a small car. Within an hour, it was the size of a tennis court."

He added that there had not been enough communication from the government with "those of us that know the ground" and that too many decisions had been "taken from Edinburgh".

McCook said people had been doing 24-hour days on the hillside, and people had come from across the country to help, which he said showed the "resilience of the Highlands."

Local resident John McGlinchey said he decided to leave his property at about 16:00 on Friday when he could see flames from his front door.

He said: "The evacuation plan didn't really start until about 20:00 and then my doorbell didn't ring until near 00:00 at night to then request for people to evacuate.

He added that he feared that "the entire village would be lost" and said it was an "absolute godsend" that the rains came to help dampen the flames.

John McLinchey said better plans needed to be in place to deal with wildfires

He was concerned though that the flames could re-ignite, and said a fixed-wing aircraft was required to deliver a greater volume of water to the hillside.

McGlinchey also expressed fru