Winter wildfires as fierce five-mile blaze sparked by tropical UK temperatures

29 January 2024 , 21:02

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The blaze took hold near Assynt, Scottish Highlands (Image: DAILY RECORD)

Photos capture part of a fierce five-mile fire sparked by temperatures of around 19C in the UK - in January.

The temperatures, combined with gusts of 70mph, have caused the blaze to move quickly across Scottish Highlands on Sunday. The mercury topped 19C in nearby Kinlochewe, which saw Sunday become the warmest day in January in the UK in more than 70 years.

A power line was brought down and set fire to the vegetation which had begun to dry out thanks to the unseasonably warm temperature in the Highlands. Lewis MacAskill, chair of The Assynt Foundation, said: “We had very unusual weather up on the west coast. It was about 18 degrees in the middle of the day combined with winds gusting between 60 and 70mph.

"We’re standing there in our t-shirts in January - it was just bizarre. The fire seems to have started as a result of a low-voltage power line breaking off in the wind. The cable came into contact with the ground and it appears to have created a live short and that’s what started the fire.

"Although the damp conditions were damp, the high temperature meant the fire was just catching whatever dry vegetation that was lying on the ground. You do get fires here but not really at this time of year and with that level of ferocity."

Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts

As it was so unseasonably hot, any dry vegetation caught alight on Sunday (DAILY RECORD)

Speaking to Daily Record, the witness added: "It had a burning front between half a mile and a mile wide. It travelled around five miles east from its source before a heavy shower of rain in the late afternoon put it out. That means it was travelling at about 3mph which is a walking pace.

“That gives you an idea of how quick it was moving. Someone from the village thankfully raised the alarm and we had three fire appliances in attendance for the rest of the afternoon.

“While the fire was confined to hill ground, there was a real concern that it was going to spread to neighbouring properties. The focus of the fire engines was to protect those so they were stationed wherever there were properties in proximity.

“Several hundreds acres of hill land has been burned but there’s been no damage to property and nobody was injured. On behalf of The Assynt Foundation, thanks to all firefighting crews and everyone else who mobilised so quickly."

Around 100 homes were left without electricity while a number of others were evacuated as a precaution. Power supplies have since been restored. Parts of the UK are set to continue experiencing warmer weather due to southern winds dragging milder air from Africa.

Sarah Vesty