Road in Highlands closed as emergency services deal with wildfires

Wildfires: The A99 north of Freswick has been closed.©: STV

A number of wildfires in the Highlands are causing hazardous driving conditions, police have warned.

The A99 between Reiss and John O'Groats has been closed as fire in the north east Caithness area spreads.

Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service (HIFRS) said strong winds and dry weather continue to hamper efforts to bring a blaze at Canisbay under control.

It said 10 fire engines and 50 firefighters have been involved in tackling the fire, which is spread across two miles, since it started on Sunday and a helicopter is now expected to be used to try and extinguish the fires.

A fire at Killimster has also been fanned by strong winds. Burning on a front of almost two miles, four fire engines and 20 firefighters are at the scene.

Meanwhile, a blaze at Morar in Lochaber which started at around 12.30pm has been attended by three fire engines, burning around 40 acres of heath and moorland.

The fire service said it expects 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 and a number of them, having returned for some well-earned rest earlier in the day, have responded again to ensure that HIFRS continues to deliver the professional service which our communities have come to expect.

"Our control room operators have been magnificent in managing the high level of calls generated by these incidents, ensuring that sufficient fire engines and firefighters are able to attend the numerous wildfires, but also ensuring that fire and rescue services can be maintained across the Highlands and Islands."

Northern Constabulary said the fires were causing hazardous driving conditions, with diversions in place while the A99 remains shut.

People who read this story also read