More than 60 firefighters, from all across Aberdeenshire, have battled through the night to deal with a devastating blaze at a north-east farm.
The fire was spotted shortly after 11am on Monday morning in a shed containing gas cylinders at Palace Farm in Gamrie.
And, by the time emergency crews made it to the scene, near Banff, the building had already succumbed to the flames.
Firefighters from nine different appliances were forced to work for more than four hours to bring the blaze under control and they remained at the site hours after the incident to make sure the property did not reignite.
Police were also in attendance and blocked all roads leading to the farm in an attempt to keep people away from any potential dangers.
Meanwhile, nearby residents were advised to remain indoors until the fire was extinguished.
The blaze was the catalyst for a massive plume of smoke which hovered over the north-east and could be seen from as far as 12 miles away.
It could still be spotted billowing off the building well into the evening.
Palace Farm is owned by local man Scott Duncan and his wife, Jennifer.
Last night, they could not be reached for comment. But a neighbour described the moment he realised the full extent of the fire.
The man, who did not wish to be named, said he had been returning home shortly before 11am when he rounded the corner of the rural community and saw black smoke fill the sky.
He added: “At first, I thought it was my house.
“The whole place was black. I don’t know if it was oil or gas causing it, but I saw the fire service go past with a couple of specialist units.
“There were a couple of bangs as well, little pops all the time.
“I haven’t been up to see the damage yet. We don’t usually get things like this happening.”
Another witness, nearer to the farm, refused to speculate as to the cause of the blaze.
But Gamrie councillor Hamish Partridge described it as potentially “devastating” for the business of the farm.
He added: “I don’t know the circumstances of the fire yet, but certainly fires within any farm or business are a tragedy.
“With buildings and property being damaged in this case, clearly there will be a cost involved.
“It can be a strain on any business when you lose stock or items.
“However, the fire brigade appear to have done a fantastic job in tackling what was a significant blaze.”
Firefighters quickly flagged up the potential dangers of gas cylinders within the site, prompting the road closure.
It is understood that fertilisers were also within the shed.
A spokeswoman for the fire service confirmed the blaze was “under control” at about 3.30pm.
She added: “Most of the units were stood down, but four remained on the scene to cool the building.
A spokeswoman for the police stated that officers were alerted to the blaze at 11.20am.
They remained on the scene, diverting traffic away from the area until 6.30pm, when they were stood down.
Road closure signs remained in place while firefighters worked into the night.
A probe into the cause of the fire is expected to begin this morning.
Nobody was injured or hurt in the incident.
