A huge plume of smoke rising from Arthur’s Seat was visible as far away as Fife on Sunday evening, as a fire tore through the ancient extinct volcano that towers over Edinburgh. By Monday morning, the blaze had burned 0.01 square kilometres of vegetation along Salisbury Crags, with six fire engines still on the scene — up from the four initially dispatched after the alarm was raised at around 6.38pm.
Assistant chief officer John Henderson of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service told BBC Radio Scotland that crews could remain for “a couple of days” dampening down hotspots. The fire is the second at the landmark in three months, and comes as Scotland’s dry spell fuels a separate wildfire in the Cairngorms covering 6.5 square kilometres, which has been burning since last week.
“Six fire engines tackle Arthur's Seat blaze; crews expect to stay 'for a couple of days' as second fire in three months hits Edinburgh landmark.”
Police Scotland closed Queen’s Drive, the road encircling Holyrood Park, to all vehicles. No casualties have been reported. Edinburgh University student Mahek Jayantilial, 24, who lives nearby, said she saw the flames from her window. “I was a bit worried because I thought the fire would come this way, but thankfully there’s enough concrete here to stop it,” she told the Press Association. “Seeing the mountain being on fire is a bit upsetting because we didn’t have rain for like a couple of weeks. All the grass has dried off, and it was bound to happen — a small bit of glass or a poorly snuffed-out cigarette butt would have ignited it.”
Henderson said it was too early to speculate on the cause but urged the public to avoid any open flames or barbecues in areas with fire warnings. “We don’t advocate any open flames … no sources that could start a spark,” he said. A full investigation will follow once the fire is contained. On Monday morning, the sound of chainsaws could be heard as crews cleared vegetation, while firefighters concentrated efforts near the Pollock Halls of Residence, the largest student accommodation site for Edinburgh University.
