Residents to return to Scots village near Cairngorms wildfire

Evacuated residents of a village in Scotland threatened by a wildfire were to go back home Sunday, after authorities said a major incident had been ended.

Around 650 people from Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms national park were told to leave Friday "as a precaution", as authorities battled a blaze which spread across some 600 hectares (1,500 acres).

More than 500 firefighters with helicopters were deployed to battle the fire that had been burning for 11 days in the mountain park west of Aberdeen, which has long been a tourist attraction.

The region has seen weeks of dry weather, as much of Britain experiences an exceptionally hot summer with three heatwaves already recorded.

"Thanks to the efforts of fire crews... and many others over the past 24 hours, there is no longer the immediate threat which prompted the evacuation of properties in Nethy Bridge," Police Scotland Superintendent Judy Hill said late Saturday.

She added that significant resources and volunteers were continuing to work in "challenging circumstances to extinguish the fires".

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said late Saturday 75 firefighters remained on the ground tackling the remaining flames near Nethy Bridge.