Firemen prepare to fight the forest fire between the Scottish towns of
Darvel and Muirkirk April 18, 2003. Sixty fire personnel were on Friday
fighting a blaze spread over a 20km square area (12 sq miles) of
forestry and grassland, which broke out in pockets across the Ayrshire
countryside on Thursday night. A Strathclyde Fire Brigade spokesman
told Reuters that there was no immediate danger to to people or
property in the sparsely populated area. REUTERS/Jeff J Mitchell

JJM/MD