A MASSIVE wildfire has broken out, with flames and smoke seen for miles – as residents are urgently warned to stay away.
The blaze took hold in Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, yesterday evening (April 10).
Firefighters rushed to the scene near Palacerigg Country Park in the Fannyside Loch area – and warned the public to “avoid the area”.
It came after reports of nearby residents gathering to watch the inferno.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service later said it had been forced to leave the scene due to darkness – but would return in the morning.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Members of the public are being asked to avoid the area around the fire near Fannyside Road in Cumbernauld for their own safety, as some people are gathering and attempting to view the incident from nearby.
“Crews will shortly leave the incident ground due to darkness and difficult conditions and will re-attend in the morning (April 11) to assess the situation.”
In an earlier statement, the force urged locals not to alert their control room after receiving a large number of repeat calls.
In a statement posted to social media, the Palacerigg Community Trust said it was the third fire to take hold in the park this week.
A spokesperson wrote: “We are aware of a large fire at Palacerigg.
“The fire is in the area of Fannyside Loch and not currently a danger to any buildings in the country park.
“The Fire Service are on site and we thank them for the very dangerous job they do.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Further warnings for wildfires in Scotland as lastest blaze now undercontrol” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6371183482112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“This is the third fire in our beautiful country park this week.”
Earlier this week families were forced to flee their homes in Galloway and East Ayrshire due to wildfires.
The ferocious blaze was visible from space.
An extreme wildfire warning is in place from today (April 11), covering the whole of Scotland.
