Probe into Highland and Moray wildfires that burned for days
Ch Insp Mike MacKenzie said: "Fortunately no-one has been injured but a large swathe of the countryside has been badly affected."I would like to thank all the emergency services and the public involved."Our inquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances and this includes the area around Lochindorb between Carrbridge and Dava and the area around Loch Allan near Dava."He added: "We are asking anyone who saw anything suspicious or has any information that could assist with the investigation to get in touch."
One witness, who tried to put a fire out near Grantown-on-Spey in the Cairngorms National Park on Saturday, told BBC Scotland News it started south-east of Loch Allan.They said the seat of the wildfire was a ring of stones where a camp fire had been lit and camping chairs had been abandoned.The Cairngorms National Park Authority has urged people not to light campfires and barbecues.Chief executive Grant Moir said: "The effects of these fires on our wildlife and land is devastating, and we will be working with partners and landowners to assess the damage and see how we can help the recovery."
On Tuesday the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said that there was a "significant deployment of resources" to the affected areas.Crews from Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands were involved.Several local roads were closed as a precaution.Residents living in Carrbridge, Grantown-on-Spey and Aviemore were advised to keep the windows of homes and businesses closed due to smoke.People living 170 miles (273km) miles away in Orkney reported smelling smoke from the wildfires.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News
27 minutes ago
- Sky News
Wildfires break out in Turkey, Syria and Greece - with towns near Athens evacuated
Wildfires have broken out on an island and in towns near Athens in Greece, with blazes also being sparked in Turkey and Syria. The Hellenic Fire Service and local authorities said that two villages - Tsakeoi and Limnionas - had been evacuated on the island of Evia after the blaze started late on Friday. One fire service official said more than 160 firefighters, 46 trucks and five aircraft were deployed in southern Evia to put out the fire. Southern Evia, to the east of Athens, was one of several regions in Greece placed on high alert for wildfires over gale-force winds forecast for today. Images from Koropi, a town to the southwest of Athens, also show houses burnt down and helicopters dropping water on burning forests. It marks the latest wildfires to break out in Greece - where blazes are common during the summer - as it tackles strong winds and dry conditions amid an early summer heatwave in southern Europe. at least nine deaths across the continent. A wildfire broke out in Achlia on the island of Crete on Wednesday, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate - with some taken to a nearby basketball arena and hotels in safer parts of the island. The fire service official told Reuters on Friday that the fire in Crete was largely contained. Meanwhile, blazes have also broken out on Turkey's west coast - the latest in a series of blazes which started in late June - as well as its southerly neighbour Syria. At least five fires have been reported in Izmir after extreme heat, strong winds and low humidity. Two people have been killed by the blazes, while tens of thousands have been evacuated. Fires also flared on both sides of the Turkish-Syrian border on Friday, with a new blaze reported near the town of Dortyol in Turkey's border province of Hatay. The government department added that conditions have hampered efforts to bring the fire under control, and noted unexploded ordnance could be in some of the areas affected.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Incredible story of little summer camp girl clinging on for dear life in a tree after being swept 12 MILES down flooded river... as death toll hits 24 and dozens still missing
A young girl has been dramatically rescued after she was swept 12 miles down stream by raging floods in Texas which have so far claimed the lives of 24 people. The terrified youngster was pictured clinging to the branches of a tree as the rapids swelled beneath her. The girl, who is yet to be identified, was later taken to safety, News 4 San Antonio reports. A separate video showed a helicopter airlifting an individual to safety after the unprecedented floods hit Texas yesterday. Kerr County was ravaged by fast-moving waters which decimated a summer camp leaving over 20 girls unaccounted for. Officials have launched a massive rescue effort to locate dozens of missing individuals. The names of those killed have not been shared, but the final death toll is expected to rise substantially as floodwaters recede. Among those feared dead are children who were staying at Camp Mystic in Hunt, Texas, after the Guadalupe River flooded and surged by up to 30 feet above its usual water level Friday. Identities of the missing have begun to emerge as stricken families share photos of their loved ones in the hopes of learning information about their whereabouts. Terrified parents of those missing said they have been left in limbo as they await news from the ongoing searches, with the mother of one missing young campers, Janie Hunt, 9, saying: 'We are just praying.' Officials have stressed they hope to rescue many of the missing and say they're still hopeful of finding most of those missing safe and well. But the sheer scale of destruction - with buildings ripped from their foundations and cars swept away like toys - suggests that may be an overly optimistic prediction. At a press conference late on Friday evening, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the floods had been devastating, and declared that 'we need God more than ever.' 'It needs God, but it also needs a robust response... searches will continue in the darkness of night, and they will continue' into the early hours of Saturday, Abbott said. 'We'll put in everything we have in the entire state.' At least 14 helicopters, 12 drones and more than 500 people from various units have joined search efforts, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said at the presser. Over 150 people were airlifted from danger during the extensive search and rescue efforts by Texas authorities throughout Friday. Officials said at the press conference on Friday night that a total of 237 people were rescued by authorities through the day, with many more still unaccounted for. President Donald Trump also broke his silence on the devastating floods in Texas, as he pledged to fully support the ongoing recovery efforts. 'It's terrible, the floods, it's shocking,' he said late Friday evening. Trump was asked by reporters if he would provide federal aid to the area, to which he responded: 'We'll take care of them.' 'It's a terrible thing,' he added. The remarks came as footage from the ongoing searches of the Guadalupe River show a helicopter heroically saving someone from the flood damage. The footage showed a person being hoisted from the river as one of 14 helicopters deployed during the searches lifted them to safety. As some families were left in limbo awaiting their children at reunification centers, parent Serena Hanor Aldrich told the New York Times that she was thankful her two daughters, aged 9 and 12, were rescued during the floods, but said the camp runners should have been ready for the torrential rainfall. 'They should have been watching the Texas Division of Emergency Management and Kerr County,' she said. 'They were posting stuff yesterday morning. They should have been on top of it.' She said her daughters were safe because they were in camps that were on higher ground, but Camp Mystic runs a number of campsites along the Guadalupe River that were overwhelmed by flood waters. 'There are still campers missing,' Aldrich said at a reunification center, where other parents were still waiting for their children to return.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Turkey sends firefighting aircraft to Syria as wildfires rage on both sides of the border
Turkey sent two firefighting aircraft Saturday to help battle wildfires in neighboring Syria as Turkish firefighters battled a blaze on their side of the border and one person was reported dead in the country's west. Eleven fire trucks and water support vehicles were also dispatched to help beat back flames in Syria's northwest Latakia region, according to Raed Al Saleh, the Syrian minister of emergency and disaster management. He posted on X, saying 'sudden wildfires in Turkey' delayed their arrival by almost a day. Turkey has been battling wildfires since June 26. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said Saturday that firefighters successfully controlled 10 major fires in western Turkey, but an injured forestry worker had died, the third in the municipality of Odemis in Izmir province. Authorities said most of the fires in Izmir were caused by faulty power lines. Meanwhile, in Hatay province, which borders Syria, emergency crews continued fighting a blaze that broke out Friday afternoon in the Dortyol district near a residential area and rapidly intensified due to strong winds, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Some 920 homes had been evacuated as a precaution against the advancing flames, Governor Mustafa Musatli said late Friday. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 44 suspects had been detained in relation to 65 fires that broke out across the country. Fires that have hit Turkey, Greece and Syria over the past week have been fueled by soaring temperatures, strong winds, and low humidity. In Turkey, they led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and damaged some 200 homes. The Syrian Civil Defense expressed concerns over the presence of unexploded ordnance from the country's past conflicts in some of the wildfire areas. Summer fires are common in the eastern Mediterranean region, where experts warn that climate change is intensifying conditions.
