In places, the fires has burned down into the tree root system and the peat layer, and may smoulder for weeks. I’ll never forget the day the wind changed direction and a huge plume of smoke rose behind the trees immediately beyond our house. By now, 25 square kilometres of internationally important moorland and forest have burned; the equivalent of 3,500 football pitches. Photograph: Cairngorms National Park Authority/AFP/Getty ImagesWe’ve had fires here before, of course. This morning, the wind brought with it the smell of smoke, a reminder that it’s not over yet.