ANIMALS have been forced to flee raging wildfires which swept across the Cairngorms causing damage it could take “decades or longer” to recover from, park bosses have said.
Sarah Henshall, head of conservation at the Cairngorms National Park Authority said the “first priority” was the risk of harm to people and property but added that it was a “truly tragic situation” for the park’s wildlife.
She told The National: “In any situation like this, the immediate risk to people and property is of course the first priority and only once the fire is out can we look at the effects on our wildlife and habitats.
“I've now seen some of the affected areas first hand and it's heartbreaking to see. More mobile species are likely to have found refuge in the damper areas of habitat, but the impact will be varied and more hard felt for those species that depend on mature Caledonian pinewood habitats.”
Fires have been ongoing in the national park for two weeks, though cooler weather and rain are hoped to prevent further spread, and authorities at the Cairngorms have been unable to gain full access to conduct assessments of the impact as yet, Henshall added.
The extent of the impact is expected to be devastating, the conservationist said, with some areas expected to take more than 10 years to recover fully.
She said: “The conservation of the National Park is a partnership effort and once it is safe to gain full access the affected areas, we will be working with all partners to make detailed ecological assessments.
“This is a truly tragic situation, but nature is resilient and, whilst the impact and scars of the fire will remain visible for years to come, it will slowly regenerate – some areas more quickly, others will take decades or longer. In the meantime, we and our partners will do all we can to help it recover.”
As of Tuesday, around 70 firefighters and nine fire appliances remained at the scene. Fires have been burning for 13 days and spread through an area of about 10 square miles.
Residents of Nethy Bridge, in Strathspey, were allowed back into their homes at the weekend after being evacuated on Friday night.
The Cairngorms National Park Authority was still urging people as of Tuesday to avoid the Glenmore, Abernethy and Loch Morlich over safety concerns as helicopters were sent out to drop waterbombs on smouldering moors and woodland.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We are aware that there is a widespread and often strong smell of smoke throughout the area and beyond. This is due to low lying cloud cover preventing proper dispersal of smoke at ground level.
“Please be assured that there is no immediate risk to public health, however we would always advise anyone affected by smoke to close their windows and doors as a precaution.”
The fire service also warned that even in areas were there was not active firefighting operations, road closures may remain in place to enable emergency work.
The Scottish Government made a request to the UK Government for more helicopters to drop water on the fire but Whitehall was unable to provide, according to First Minister John Swinney speaking earlier in the week.
The UK Government had offered the support of the military by Scottish ministers said that this was unnecessary.
Swinney said: “The Scottish Government asked the UK Government for help in one particular issue, which was about aerial firefighting capacity – that is, to drop water from helicopters onto the fire.
“The UK Government does not have such resources – that’s the only thing that we need, we don’t need any other help.
“We’ve got all the help we need on the ground, but we just needed additional aerial water spreading capacity and the UK Government doesn’t have that – I’m not rejecting anything, they just haven’t got anything to offer us.”
Douglas Alexander, the Scottish Secretary, had told Justice Secretary Neil Gray that specialist resources will be made available upon request, including Chinook helicopters for logistical and heavy-lift capacity and support from UK stand-by battalions.
