Firefighters last night continued to monitor a gorse blaze which has burned through shrubbery along the Moray coast for days.
The fire at Clashach Quarry, near Hopeman, sparked into life on Thursday afternoon and continued to smoulder last night despite being doused by “water bombs” from helicopters over the weekend.
Although a spokeswoman for the fire service confirmed that the scene still required attention yesterday, she said it was “likely” to die down today.
She said: “Units are periodically checking on areas affected by the fire, but are expected to declare it safe at some point soon.”
There was some hope that the longstanding incident had reached a conclusion on Saturday morning, and the five fire crews stationed there to damp down hotspots began to pack up and leave.
But a subsequent inspection highlighted concerns that flames could again take hold, and firefighters were rushed back to the area.
On Saturday night a helicopter was scrambled to “waterbomb” the area for the second day in a row.
Huge sprays of water were doused over the charred gorse and shrubbery as it raged, and members of the public were urged to stay away from nearby coastal paths.
Police confirmed on Friday that they are treating the blaze as deliberate.
Sergeant Scott Brander said: “Inquiries are ongoing and police are following a positive line of inquiry.”
At the height of the fire, seven crews from Elgin, Forres, Aberlour and Nairn and a welfare unit from Huntly were in attendance.
Huge plumes of smoke filled the sky, and could be seen as far away as Nairn and Buckie, as people with breathing difficulties were asked to avoid the area entirely.
Moray Council convener James Allan praised the “Blitz spirit” of Hopeman residents who brought food to firefighters exhausted by battling the blaze.
He said: “The community has really rallied round and come out in force to help the emergency services.”