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http://www.documentingreality.com/fo...me-line-45276/ Fires are still burning in parts of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland as high winds and dry conditions frustrate emergency services.
Firefighters are dealing with various blazes across large parts of the Scottish Highlands.
Two boys, aged 10 and 15, have been questioned about a gorse fire in the Mourne Mountains of County Tyrone.
Meanwhile 150 firefighters have been called to deal with a number of incidents at Swinley Forest, Berkshire.
Elsewhere 50 firefighters in Lancashire have been using beaters and spraying water on flames and smouldering moorland at Belmont, Bacup and Ormskirk.
Crews from Merseyside, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire are involved in tackling the fires, which were fanned by winds of up to 45 mph.
'Little chance of rain'
Paul Richardson, from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, says the high winds and very dry conditions make it risky for walkers and emergency crews.
Weather forecasters have said there is very little chance of rain in the next 24 hours.
In the Highlands several homes at Inverkirkaig in Assynt and Shiel Bridge in Kintail have been evacuated because of advancing flames.
Crews have been working on steep rugged terrain and helicopters have been brought in to reach inaccessible areas.
Hundreds of firefighters have been involved - most of them part-time and retained.
In Northern Ireland, the Mournes, Ballycastle, Gortin and Rostrevor have been badly affected.
Chief Fire Officer Peter Craig said it had been "phenomenally busy".
He said: "What we are highly concerned with is protecting life, property and infrastructure.
"In Rostrevor, I saw a ball of flames rolling towards a property. Firefighters, the local community and property owners themselves worked extremely hard to make sure that that person's home did not go up in flames."
The National Trust has warned the fires will cause "immense damage" to the Mournes.
In Berkshire 150 firefighters from four different counties have been dealing with four serious blazes at Swinley Forest.
A large area of Bracknell and Crowthorne remains closed off.
Elsewhere in Europe the dry weather has led to fires in parts of Switzerland, Russia and the Netherlands.
Source :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13265564 UPDATE Expected heavy rain set to bring UK wildfire relief
It is hoped overnight thunderstorms will aid firefighters to control fires still raging in parts of the UK.
Blazes continue to burn in Berkshire and Lancashire, while fires caused by the recent hot spell have destroyed acres of land in Northern Ireland and parts of the Highlands.
BBC weather forecaster Nick Miller said heavy thundery rain would spread north and east across the UK overnight.
Fire crews say Saturday's wet weather had little effect on burning moorlands.
A Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman said rain that fell over Swinley Forest, near Bracknell, made little difference to the fires.
Crews have been battling round-the-clock in their efforts to extinguish them, with 25 fire engines still at the scene.
Police investigating the blaze have bailed two 14-year-old youths arrested on suspicion of arson.
The hottest April on record, which saw only a fifth of the expected rainfall in England and Wales, has caused vast areas of parched, tinder-dry land to go up in flames across the UK over the past week.
Seven appliances from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service were sent to tackle an ongoing blaze at Turton on Saturday, while two teenagers were arrested on suspicion of arson after a large moorland fire near Halifax.
The wet weather also did little to temper the burning moorlands in Lancashire, where fires have been raging over a six square-mile area at Belmont for more than a week.
Fire crews in Northern Ireland have fought more than 1,000 gorse and forestry fires over the past four days.
Around 200 personnel, including soldiers, have battled 255 fires in 31 locations since Tuesday, according to deputy chief fire officer Chris Kerr.
In the Highlands, wildfires broke out in Inverkirkaig, Lochailort and in Newton of Ardtoe in Salen.
The National Trust for Scotland said at least £100,000 of damage had been caused to its forest regeneration project in Torridon and Kintail.
Helicopters have been used to drop water in the worst-affected regions.
Source :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13325440
one of the sources of pictures :
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13270403