Wildfire warning as fire crews battle Fife blaze.

Wildfire warnings issued as heatwave continues

Fire crews battled a blaze in Fife woodland over the weekend as Scotland continued to experience a rainless heatwave. Plumes of smoke could be seen in the cloudless blue skies for miles, as the tinder dry wooded area close to the Braefoot Bay oil terminal went up in flames on Saturday. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service took calls about the blaze from worried people on the other side of the Forth. Members of the public have been urged not to smoke or light fires near the affected area, a swathe of gorse and trees close to the oil terminal between Aberdour and Dalgety Bay. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said four appliances, two from Dunfermline, one from Kirkcaldy and one from Lochgelly, were initially sent to tackle the blaze. By later in the evening seven appliances were at the scene. An all-terrain vehicle from Dunblane also attended, along with a command unit from Bo’ness. The area affected, around 100m sq and to the south of a plantation of trees, was well alight by the time fire crews arrived. They used hoses and portable pumps as they worked on containing the fire, hampered by the relative inaccessibility of the area. Crews beat back the flames in the dense gorse and by yesterday morning only one appliance remained on the scene, checking in case any areas reignited. That crew returned to its station by around 9am. But the fire broke out again at 2.40pm yesterday and five appliances returned to the scene. The blaze was eventually brought under control just before 8.25 last night. There were no casualties A wider wildfire warning remains in place across Scotland and the chairman of the Scottish Wildfire Forum, SFRS area manager Bruce Farquharson said: “Grass and wildfires are a common risk at this time of year when warmer weather dries out vegetation – especially dead winter foliage. “Just one heat source can cause it to ignite and if the wind changes direction, even the smallest fire can spread uncontrollably and devastate entire hillsides.”

Picture: Wullie Marr Photography. Firefighters tend to the remnants of the blaze.

Right: Our graphic shows the area of the outbreak.