Wild fires in the Highlands of Scotland

[Jock Scot]

Are these fires near Chris and Jock and our other Highland members?

All is well just here---------- at the moment. At certain times of the year(not now!) the heather is deliberately set on fire to encourage new growth for the grouse, so the heather will recover very quickly. Those of you that have driven up the A9 from Perth to Inverness may have noticed the patchwork effect in the heather, that is controlled heather burning for the grouse.

I well remember the Commandos(WW2) who trained around here, always with live ammunition, accidentally setting fire to the moor and it burnt for weeks and it burned all the way to Mallaig some thirty miles away. The real problem is if the peat catches fire and then it can burn underground for months.