The BBC’s Jenny Hill says it has been one of longest periods crews have spent tackling moorland fires in recent years
Firefighters are continuing to deal with wild fires which have been burning across parts of the Highlands over the dry bank holiday weekend.
Several homes in Inverkirkaig in Assynt and Shiel Bridge in Kintail were evacuated because of advancing flames.
Crews have been working on steep rugged terrain and helicopters have been brought in to reach inaccessible areas.
Hundreds of firefighters have been involved – most of them part-time, retained firefighters.
Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service will reassess the situation over Tuesday morning.
Much of the effort to tackle the fires has involved the exhausting work of physically beating out the flames, along with water bombing by helicopter.
The largest scale fire has been burning at Torridon in Wester Ross and has destroyed about 10 square miles of vegetation.
It has been burning over the long weekend and has led to the evacuation of a campsite and the airlifting of several hillwalkers to safety.
“Once the fires reached the trees, the flames leapt as high as 40 feet”
Pete Selman National Trust for Scotland
The National Trust for Scotland said the fires had raged over key areas of Scottish woodland, including the Inveralling forestry scheme, and that late on Sunday they hit the forest regeneration plantations above Kintail village.
The regeneration is part of a plan to join up existing patches of ancient Caledonian pine forest and is one of its main conservation objectives.
The trust’s director Pete Selman said: “Despite the best efforts of the crews on the ground, once the fires reached the trees, the flames leapt as high as 40ft.
“At one point it looked as if the plantation might have been saved but the fires flared up again and, as it was getting dark, the teams had to come off the hill for their own safety.
“The loss of the mature trees is heartbreaking to all those involved in forest regeneration in the area over many years. However, the main thing is that no-one was hurt.”
New fires also broke out at Lochailort, south east of Arisaig, Kinlochleven in Lochaber, and at Dava woods near Inverurie in Aberdeenshire on Monday evening.
Fire crews also called in a helicopter to help fight the blaze on the Balmoral Estate.
Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service had also been dealing with a large area of scrub and gorse on fire at Glengyle, at the northern end of Loch Katrine.
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