Evacuations as wildfire spreads north through Galloway forest

People and properties have been evacuated as a wildfire has spread over a large area of forest in Galloway, in the south west of Scotland.

Emergency services were initially called to Glen Trool at about 23:50 on Friday, with police urging people to avoid the area.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said two crews remained on the scene late on Sunday afternoon, with helicopters continuing to water bomb the area.

Rising temperatures across the UK have led to wildfire warnings being put in place for several parts of the country.

Firefighters are also tackling another wild blaze in the west Highlands near Ullapool.

Police have closed a stretch of the A835 between the Achiltibuie junction and the junction at Badagyle.

A spokesperson for the SFRS said the fire in Galloway had now moved on to the nearby Lamachan Hill, but the blaze at Bennan Hill had been extinguished.

Police previously warned of a risk the flames could spread to the Loch Doon area of East Ayrshire after a change in wind direction.

People living in the area, including near Loch Doon, have been asked to keep windows and doors closed.

A helicopter was dispatched to assess damage to the area from above on Sunday morning.

Stewart Gibson, team leader at Galloway Mountain Rescue, said at one point fire crews had four helicopters dropping water on the flames from above, with the fire front “two to three miles wide” at one stage.

He said five groups of walkers were located on the hills on Friday night, but were safely moved away from the area.

Team members were acting as spotters for the police overnight on Sunday, but were stood down at about 04:00.

He urged anyone heading to the hills over the next week to take care and avoid lighting camp fires or naked flames.

Mr Gibson told BBC Radio’s The Sunday Show: “It’s an exceptionally dry period of weather we have been having and I know for the next week it is going to be very dry as well.

“So anyone out with a camping stove, anything can park the fire, so we would urge anyone out to take care.

“We would advise people not to light camp fires and use naked flames.”

Police urged people to stay away from the site and urged and anyone camping nearby to leave. Areas affected include Merrick Hill, Ben Yellary and Loch Dee.

Another wildfire had been reported around the same the area on Thursday and covered some 1.5 miles (2.4km).

Scotland has seen a number of fires over the last few weeks as the weather gets warmer and drier.

The fire service issued an “extreme” warning for wildfires and the public has been urged to avoid lighting any fires outdoors until next week.

It warned that there was typically a large volume of “dead, bone-dry vegetation across large areas of countryside” at this time of year which acts as a fuel for fire.

The SFRS said hills are particularly prone to wildfires because the fire can spread far quicker uphill than on flatter ground.

BBC Scotland weather presenter, Christopher Blanchett, said the south of Scotland had only recorded about 30%-50% of its expected rainfall for March.

However, some areas close to the location of the fire at Glen Trool were drier still, with Scottish Environment Protection Agency rain gauge data showing rainfall at just 20% of expected levels.

He said: “This part of the Galloway forest hasn’t recorded any rainfall for more than a week, with the last wet weather here on 29 March.

“Overall, it’s been a dry start to April in Scotland and this followed a very dry March. There’s no rain forecast for the region for around another week too.

“In addition to the dry conditions, Friday and Saturday have been quite windy across the south west. On Friday night, the east-north-easterly winds were gusting close to gale force on the Solway coast.

He added: “All of these factors combined can help fuel wildfires and allow them to spread”.

Meanwhile an amber alert for wildfires is in place for parts of England, southern Scotland and Northern Ireland until Monday.

A huge gorse fire spanning about two miles (3.2km) in the Mourne Mountains in County Down is being tackled by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.

Police believe that fire may have been started deliberately.