Daviot wildfire burns next to back garden amid power cuts

Firefighters are battling a wildfire that broke out in the Highlands for a second day.

The flames burned through the night after taking hold near the village of Daviot, south of Inverness, at about 14:45 on Saturday.

Some homes and businesses close to the fire area have been without power since Saturday as a result.

The fire service said helicopter water bombing was still in operation on Sunday afternoon.

However it said crews were also dampening down hot spots.

People have been urged to stay indoors and close all windows to prevent smoke inhalation.

The blaze is about 30 miles (48km) from Cannich - the site of another recent wildfire, thought be the largest recorded in the UK.

Locals in Daviot have praised crews who protected properties from the flames.

One resident, whose back garden was feet away from the blaze, told BBC Scotland that he chose to take his family away from the area for the night.

He said the power was still out on Sunday morning.

"Thankfully it has started to rain now. The fire fighters were brilliant, if they had been five minutes later I think it could have been a different story," he said.

Power was also out at the nearby Auchnahillin Holiday Park on Sunday, where owner Anita Gibson had been monitoring the situation and taking advice from the fire service overnight.

"We are so close, just underneath the hill, so the flames were not so visible for us but there was a lot of smoke.

"The helicopter was going overhead and dropping water up until about 23:00 so it was fairly noisy. I moved some of our tent campers into caravans for the night as I was worried about the smoke."

She said the fire seemed like it was under control on her side of the hill but was still burning into the moors.

She added: "The power is still off but there was no damage to property and we were glad to see a bit of rain this morning.

"We know wildfires do occur but it's not something we thought would happen on our doorstep. We are very grateful to the emergency services."

A spokesman for SSE told the BBC around 12 homes were cut off.

He said: "Following discussion with the SFRS, we were asked to isolate power supplies in the immediate area yesterday evening.

"We now await instruction to reconnect supplies when it is safe to do so and would like to thank customers for their patience."

SFRS had extended an alert for a "very high" risk of wildfire until Monday.

Saturday was the hottest day of the year for Scotland, after 29.8°C was recorded in Auchincruive, Ayrshire.

Duncan Macpherson, a Highland councillor for Inverness South, said firefighters were facing an "almighty challenge" on Saturday night.

He tweeted: "The wildfire at Daviot south of Inverness stretches over a mile long between Craggie and Moy and presents an almighty challenge for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to try and contain as the wind blows the flames further across the landscape."

Scientist Dr Gail Millin-Chalabi told BBC One's The Sunday Show wildfires have become more common in recent years.

"One of the things to bear in mind is we are seeing hotter, drier, longer summers in the UK and this was predicted back in 2013 when wildfire was first identified as a risk in the UK," she said.

"We are seeing larger, more severe wildfires here. We had the largest number of burnt areas of 30 hectares or larger in 2022, with 151 in total for the wildfire season."

She also said that most of the UK's wildfires were caused by accidental or deliberate ignition.

"We have evidence of that. And there is definitely a requirement to increase awareness of wildfire risk in peatland, moorland and heathlands."

Meanwhile thunderstorms are expected to sweep across much of the Highlands and west coast on Sunday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow alert lasting between 12:00 and 21:00 BST.

Forecasters said conditions would include lightning strikes, strong winds and "torrential" rain in some parts.