Fires close Highland road and cause driving hazards

A NUMBER of wildfires in the Highlands were causing hazardous driving conditions last night, police warned.

The A99 between Reiss and John o’ Groats in Caithness was closed, as Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service said strong winds and dry weather continued to hamper efforts to bring a blaze at Canisbay under control.

Ten fire engines and 50 firefighters tackled the fire, which had spread across two miles yesterday, and a helicopter was expected to be used.

A fire at nearby Killimster has also been fanned by strong winds. It was burning on a front of almost two miles, and four fire engines and 20 firefighters were at the scene.

Meanwhile, a heath and moorland blaze at Morar in Lochaber, which started at 12:30pm, was attended by three fire engines.

The fire service said it expected to be at the scene of all the fires “for some considerable time”.

Billy Wilson, deputy assistant chief fire officer, said: “All of our staff have responded tremendously to the needs of our communities. Many of our firefighters have been at these incidents for many hours.”