Firefighters have been working through the night to tackle a large gorse fire on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh. The blaze, which sent smoke billowing into the sky above the Scottish capital, was reported at about 4.05pm on Sunday, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).
Four fire appliances and specialist resources remain at the scene, with crews continuing to battle the fire at the extinct volcano and beauty spot to the south-east of the city centre. No casualties have been reported.
An SFRS spokesperson said: 'We were alerted at 4.05pm on Sunday, 10 August to reports of a fire in the open at Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh. Operations control mobilised four fire appliances and specialist resources to the area where firefighters are working to extinguish a fire affecting a large area of gorse.'
Arthur's Seat, which some believe is named after King Arthur, is located in Holyrood Park, overlooking the Scottish Parliament. A similar fire at the site in 2019 took firefighters eight hours to extinguish, affecting an area of about 800 square metres.
The SFRS has issued several wildfire warnings this year as Scotland experiences a warm and dry summer. The country faced severe water shortages earlier this year after the driest spring since 1964, with a current deficit of 60 million litres per day during droughts, projected to rise to 240 million litres per day by 2050.
