Arthur's Seat fire: Firefighters still 'monitoring hotspots and flare ups' after blaze near Arthur's Seat

Firefighters remain on-site in Holyrood Park on Tuesday following a wildfire which spread rapidly up the Salisbury Crags on Sunday night.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said the operation has now been scaled back, with two appliances at the park as of 7.30am on Tuesday.

However, they said officers are continuing to damp down hotspots and monitor flare ups and are likely to remain at the scene for some time.

Two fire appliances remain at the scene on Tuesday morning | Iconic

The fire, which was first reported at around 6.30pm on Sunday, was mostly contained by Monday morning. However the cliffside facing St Leonard’s Bank reignited briefly in the afternoon.

On Monday the assistant chief officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, John Henderson, said crews were expecting to remain at the site “for a couple of days”.

He said: “Protracted wildfire incidents, they’re weather-driven, we deal with them in partnership, they take a protracted period of time to deal with them.

“We tend to be there for protracted periods of time, even after the fire is extinguished to make sure that we’re maintaining the hotspots.

“The feeling from the ground there is that we’ll probably be there for a couple of days, continuing to tackle that and dampen out hotspots from those.”

Queen’s Drive remains closed to traffic and police have urged people to avoid the area.

A police spokesperson said: “Queens Drive remains closed due to an ongoing fire in the open at Arthur’s Seat.

“Emergency services remain in attendance, and the public should continue to avoid the area and surrounding area.

“Residents in the local area should keep windows and doors closed.”