Firefighters battle large gorse bush fire overnight on famous Edinburgh hillside

Firefighters in Scotland battled a large brush fire overnight into Monday that broke out on a landmark hill overlooking Edinburgh, with burning gorse bushes sending plumes billowing into the sky.

The fire broke out on Arthur's Seat, a large extinct volcano whose sweeping views over Edinburgh make it one of the city's most popular landmarks.

Sunday’s fire came as the city started the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest performance arts festival.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze late on Sunday afternoon and crews worked through the night to control the blaze.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Group Commander Niall MacLennan said the fire affected a large area of gorse bushes, which are thorny evergreen shrubs.

The cause of the blaze remains unclear.

Rory Hadden, an expert in fire science in the engineering department at the University of Edinburgh, said most fires in Scotland are started by human actions and noted that Arthur's Seat was very busy on Sunday.

"The large number of people visiting and the very dry conditions are therefore a good mix for a wildfire to start and to spread," he said.

Hadden said wildfires in and around Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh occur relatively often. He added that wildfires are becoming more frequent in the UK due to climate and land use changes.

A similar fire broke out on Arthur's Seat in 2019, when firefighters battled a blaze there for eight hours.