Fire in field at safari park

Firefighters tackled a grass fire near Blair Drummond Safari Park on Tuesday evening.

The fire broke out on a field close to the A84, between Blairdrummond and Doune, and followed a large grass fire that took hold on Law Hill, near Tillicoultry, on Sunday.

The fire service were alerted to the blaze near the safari park shortly after 5pm on Tuesday.

A fire engine from Dunblane Fire Station used a high pressure hose and two water back packs to extinguish the blaze.

In the aftermath of the fire near Tillicoultry SFRS local senior officer Roddie Keith, warned of the dangers of fires in the open.

He said: “Wild and grass fires can cause significant environmental and economic damage.

“Livestock, farmland, wildlife, protected woodland and sites of special scientific interest can all be devastated by these fires, – as can the lives of people living and working in rural communities.

“Many people will be enjoying the outdoors in the good weather this week and we urge everyone to make sure that they don’t increase the chance of wild and grass fires.

“Wild and grass fires can start by the careless disposal of cigarettes and barbecues or campfires left unattended.

“They then have the potential to burn for days and devastate vast areas of land, wildlife and threaten the welfare of nearby communities.”