Scotland wildfires: Highland fire reaches 'within 100 yards' of care home
A fleet of coaches were on standby to evacuate residents from a care home after a wildfire reached within just 100 yards from the premise, a councillor has said.
Flames ripped through part of the Highlands on Saturday, reportedly covering an area up to a mile long.
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Hide AdFirefighters were alerted to the blaze near the village of Daviot, about seven miles south east from Inverness, at 2.45pm on Saturday.
As at Sunday, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) confirmde crews are still at the scene to ensure the area is safe.
Councillor for Inverness South Duncan Macpherson said the region has seen a bout of dry, hot weather which has left woodland “timber dry” which led to “a substantial fire.”
"The moment the flames caught onto any of the pine trees it was like some sort of explosion.”
The conucillor said Daviot Care Home was preparing for “a full scale evacuation” because the widflire swept across the other side of the B9154 road that goes past the residence.
"The fire came wtihin 100 yards of the care home,” he said.
"It was very close.
"You can see the damage now from the flames on some land just on the other side of the road.
“A neighbour told me there was a fleet of buses from D&E Coaches outside in case of a full scale evacuation of patients and staff from the busy care home.”
Donald Matheson, who owns D&E Coaches, confirmed the company had four vehicles on standby in case the flames reached any closer to the property.
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Hide AdOne video on social media showed the wildfire engulfing a tree in a Daviot resident’s garden, just metres from their house.
Cllr Macpherson added: “Even further away in Inverness there was a pungent smell of ash in the air.
"Once raindrops started to appear, you could see that cars were covered in ash.”
He said local contractors were out with diggers turning the soil to create fire breaks.
A spokesperson for Daviot Care Home said: "The safety and wellbeing of our residents and colleagues is our highest priority and we are following the advice of the emergency services who are closely monitoring the situation. We are pleased to hear the fire is under control.
"All of our colleagues have been amazing as they have supported our residents, who are all doing well and remain in high spirits. We would like to thank the emergency services for their hard work, and for supporting the home throughout.”