Firefighters in Scotland battle large brush fire on hill near Edinburgh

LONDON (AP) — Firefighters in Scotland overnight and into Monday battled a large brush fire that broke out on a landmark hill overlooking the city of 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 recognizable landmarks.

Sunday’s fire came as the city kicked off its annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest performance arts festival.

Emergency services were alerted to the blaze late Sunday afternoon, and crews worked through the night and into Monday 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 was 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.