Firefighters have been credited with saving a treasured north-east woodlands from a huge blaze.
The moorland fire broke out on the fringes of Clashindarroch Forest, west of Rhynie, on Thursday at about 9.30pm, with emergency services spending almost fours hours bringing it under control.
The incident took place on land which was formerly part of Black Middens Farm, near the A941 Rhynie to Dufftown road at Cowford Bridge.
The land now forms part of the Clashindarroch Forest itself.
Witnesses who raised the alarm said the flames had been heading for the woodlands itself.
And last night firefighters were hailed for stopping its spread into the scenic forest.
Cabrach resident Deborah Smith – who stays on a nearby farm with her husband, John – spotted the blaze as she drove home on the night and alerted the fire and rescue service.
She said: “I was just on my way home and came around the corner and saw the fire. I actually thought it was the forest that was on fire to start with. I stay two miles further up the road.
“I did actually think it was headed into the forest. I think they (the firefighters) did stop it spreading to the trees.
“There is also a peat moss in the area. If it had got in there it might have been worse. I have never seen any fires there before.”
About 30 firefighters from Huntly, Keith and Insch tackled the blaze, with specialist vehicles also called to assist.
A fire spokeswoman said: “It was a secondary fire, it came into us at 9.34pm. It was a fire on the moorland there, we were using beaters and knapsacks.
“The stop message came in at 10.08pm, but we remained on scene until approximately 1.11am damping down.
“There was Huntly, Keith and Insch there. There was specialist appliances as well.”
The area was left a blackened mess yesterday following the blaze.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, however a police spokeswoman said it was not being treated as suspicious.
She added: “We were made aware at about 10.10pm. We did attend to help with the traffic management.
“It doesn’t look like there has been any suspicious circumstances.”