Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Firefighters tackle wildfire on Benbecula

fire
Covid testing at fire stations is being expanded across the Highlands following the success of operations at 21 existing locations.

Firefighters remained at a moor blaze in the Outer Hebrides overnight amid an “extreme” warning of wildfires.

One appliance from Benbecula was deployed to an area near Balivanich on Benbecula around 3.30pm on Wednesday.

A further two crews from Lochboisdale and Lochmaddy joined the efforts to douse the flames, with two firefighters keeping watch on the fire overnight.

A stop message was relayed back to control at 4.21am.

At the height of the blaze, the fire front spread to an area spanning 3,240ft.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

It is understood crews had to move sheep away from the site of the blaze as flames roared through the moorland.

A fire service spokeswoman said: “We received reports of a moor fire at around 3.30pm.

“One appliance was deployed with two additional units arriving shortly afterwards.

“We are still in attendance.

Wildfire warning for islands

On Wednesday, the fire service warned of an “extreme” risk of wildfires along the coastal and island areas of western Scotland.

Despite the freezing temperatures, chiefs say there are “vast” parts covered in dry vegetation – acting as “fuel” for any fires which may break out.

Area commander Bruce Farquharson, who is also chairman of the Scottish Wildlife Forum, said: “There may have been a lot of snow in the eastern and central areas of Scotland, but that is not the case in the western coastal areas and fuel conditions are very different.

“At this time of year, we typically have a large volume of dead, bone-dry vegetation left over – which essentially acts as a fuel for fire.

“As a result, there are currently vast areas of countryside all over the country that are tinder dry and vulnerable, this provides all of the ingredients for fire to take hold and spread.

“We are asking the public to exercise extreme caution and think twice before using anything involving a naked flame.”

A series of wildfires took hold in the area during February 2018, just days after the Beast From The East hit the country.

Mr Farquharson said: “This weather patterns is very similar to what we witnessed two years ago during the Beast from the East, which saw a number of challenging wildfire incidents on Barra and Skye.

“These incidents came just days after the snow storms, which left hundreds of motorists stranded overnight in freezing conditions on the M80.”

He added: “We would always stress the importance of being vigilant in areas of countryside, but right now we are in a unique and testing period for all emergency services.

“We will always do our utmost to protect our communities, and to save life and property from harm at all times – but we also need the public to help us.

“Human behaviour can significantly lower the chance of a wildfire starting, so it is crucial that people act safely and responsibly in rural environments.”