A helicopter was drafted in to water bomb sensitive countryside as a wildfire took hold in the Balmacara area of Lochalsh yesterday.
At one stage the fire front stretched for a mile and a half between Duirinish and Balmacara.
It was finally brought under control yesterday afternoon after taking hold just before 3pm on Tuesday.
Fire crews from Inverness, Dingwall, Drumnadrochit and Spean Bridge were all in attendance.
The sensitive moorland is owned by the National Trust for Scotland. A spokesman said: “There have been 494 acres affected including the Coille Mhor site of special scientific interest. We have been lucky the fire has only affected the open hills, the important habitats are in the woodland.”
He added: “The rare lichens are unaffected. That has been helped by the helicopter water bombing and heading the fire off at the pass. We have had a lucky escape.
“We brought the privately operated helicopter in at the request of the fire service. Iain Turnbull, our property manager for Balmacara, would like to say a big thank you to the fire service and the helicopter crew for being able to turn the fire away from more sensitive areas.”
This follows a further three challenging wildfires across the Highlands and Islands area, all of which took hold on Sunday morning.
Operations Control mobilised a number of resources to Achintee in Strathcarron at 6.58am, to the Sligachan to Carbost area of the Isle of Skye at 9.51am and to the Torridon area at 10.30am.
All three of these wildfires have since been extinguished.
A warning for an increased risk of wildfires is in place across Scotland until today.
