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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Antony Thrower & Ruth Suter

Huge wildfire tears through beauty spot as locals urged to keep windows and doors shut

An out of control wildfire broke out in the Scottish Highlands this afternoon, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the sky.

Fire crews were scrambled to the incident in Daviot, south of Inverness, at 2.45pm today, where six fire engines and a specialist appliance remain in attendance.

Shocking images from the scene show the inferno ripping its way through the dune as thick smoke pockets spill into the sky.

Other pictures show trees ignited during the incident as firefighters work to tackle the flames.

Nearby residents have been warned to keep their windows and doors shut as crews continue to battle the inferno, Daily Record reported.

Auchnahillin Holiday Park reported the blaze is spreading "very close" to the facility in East Daviot. Management have turned off all power as a safety precaution.

A statement from the holiday park reads: "Forest fire very close to us (across the road) but emergency services are in attendance working hard to control and contain it.

“Power has been turned off so no landline or internet.”

It is unknown if there have been any injuries caused by the flames.

Earlier this week a “very high” wildfire warning was put out across Scotland.

People were told to keep their windows and door shut (Peter Jolly Northpix)

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "We were alerted at 2.45pm on Saturday, 10 June to reports of a fire in the open at Daviot, south of Inverness.

“Operations Control initially mobilised one fire appliance to the scene, increasing to six appliances and specialist resources.

“Crews remain on scene and local residents are asked to keep windows and doors closed to prevent smoke inhalation.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson added: "Emergency services are currently in attendance at a wildfire in the Daviot area south of Inverness.

"SFRS are currently dealing with the fire and we would ask local residents to keep windows and doors closed due to smoke.”

It came as the UK officially recorded the hottest day of the year so far after temperatures exceeded 32C today.

The highest temperature of 2023 was recorded in Chertsey, Surrey, which reached 32.2C during the afternoon.

It is the first time since August 24, 2022, temperatures have gone above 30C in the UK, the Met Office said in a tweet.

The whole country is experiencing a heatwave - and the warm weather is here to stay for the next few days.

Scotland and Northern Ireland also had their warmest days of the year so far as well, with 29.8°C at Auchincruive and 25.3°C at Armagh respectively.

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