As the country enjoyed yet another day of seemingly unstoppable sunshine, fire-fighters once again were sent out to battle wildfires that had broken out on sun-scorched grassland and gorse.
Crews were called back to an open gorse fire near Kingswells on the outskirts of Aberdeen as the blaze continued to reignite in the unrelenting heat.
Three pumps remained at the scene between Bucksburn and Kingswells last night trying to stamp out the fire.
A new blaze broke out at Lossiemouth in the Inchbroom Woods area.
Three appliances were sent to tackle the fire which broke out on open grassland yesterday morning, just after 10am and crews from Inverness, Buckie and Fochabers again remained there last night.
In an effort to prevent their own countryside from being blighted in the same fashion, police officers in Nairn issued a warning about the dangers of deliberate fire-setting and guidance on BBQs during the summer months.
Officers will jointly patrol with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service along the town’s beach and links during the school holiday period as a deterrent – and hope to be in position to quickly tackle any fires that are found.
Inspector Mike Middlehurst said: “Previous joint operations have proved very successful and we are pleased to be continuing this during the summer.
“Recklessly setting fires is incredibly dangerous. You have no idea how it may develop, especially given the very dry weather we have been experiencing recently.”
At Hopeman, meanwhile, there was respite from the blazes that have continually troubled the surrounding countryside.
Crews had remained on the hillside above the town on Tuesday evening but were finally able to leave in the early hours on Wednesday morning. It was the latest in a series of wildfires.
Rab Middlemiss, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Local Senior Officer for Highlands, said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has a very clear, zero tolerance approach to deliberate fire raising because it puts our communities at great risk.
“It presents a danger to life, property and the environment – not to mention the potential impact on businesses which are important to the economy.
“We will continue to work very closely with our police and local authority partners to ensure that those responsible are identified and dealt with accordingly.”
The “exceptional” warm weather will continue into next week according to Met Office forecaster John Mitchell, who last night said provisional figures showed June temperatures to have been in the “top five” recorded in Scotland since 1910.
He added: “There may be some light showers in the Highlands this weekend, but they will be isolated.
“We can expect this exceptionally warm weather to continue into the end of next week.”
Aviemore topped the mercury scale yesterday, recording the highest temperature in Scotland at 28.8 degrees.
A spokesman for Scottish Water, meanwhile said customers were being advised to “use water wisely” as user demand surges in the heatwave.
Moray has been one of the worst affected areas, with local reservoirs running low.
As the temperatures began to take a toll on the road network too, a spokeswoman for Aberdeenshire Council said they had carried out some “minor repairs” on the A920 at Haugh of Glass yesterday.
She added: “It was one of the places hit worst late last week and with road surface temperatures continuing to remain high we have been monitoring conditions and carrying out further dusting of road surfaces as and when necessary.
“Road users should continue to be cautious of road surface conditions during hot weather and adhere to any temporary warnings signs.”