Locals left cleaning ash off garden furniture and cars from huge wildfire blaze near Arthur's Seat
Locals nearby to the huge wildfire on Salisbury Crags reported seeing plumes of smoke after the fire was sparked on Sunday evening (July 19)
Residents in the areas surrounding the fire on Salisbury Crags were left washing ash off of garden furniture and cars after smoke billowed over the city and beyond.
The huge grass fire on the side of the hill was sparked at around 6.30pm on Sunday evening.
The emergency response is continuing with fire crews expected to remain in place “for a couple of days”.
Locals living nearby the site of the blaze have spoken to the Evening News about what they saw last night.
Alison, who lives just south of the Royal Commonwealth Pool, said: “I was sitting in the back garden thinking I could smell a lot of barbecue smoke, someone must be barbecuing.
“I came inside the house and saw pictures and videos on Facebook. I looked back out my window and I could start to see the smoke, so I thought I better close it.”
Alison said that the remnants of the fire were noticeable this morning, adding: “I spent the morning cleaning ash off of my garden furniture. The car is covered too, so I’ll be taking it to the car wash.”
Emma, 30, lives across the road from the Salisbury Crags in a flat on Dumbiedykes Road and watched from her window as the fire spread.
She said: “We live just across the street and we were watching all night from the window.
“It started so small and just spread so quickly, it was crazy.
“It was massive and the firefighters were working all night long.
“This is Summer’s [Emma’s dog] favourite hill. My little cousin used to love climbing it too and I phoned them last night and said ‘oh my god it’s on fire’.”
Nearby residents were told to shut their windows and doors due to the smoke, but there wasn’t much instruction from emergency services apart from this.
Mary, who also lives in Dumbiedykes, said: “I wasn’t here for the start but I did see it after it had already caught.
“We weren’t really told anything by the emergency services. People were standing around and down on the grass watching it spread, I spotted an orange glow from behind a large tree and I walked around to see too.
“But the police officers seemed really calm about it and although it looked close, it was quite a few roads away, so we weren’t too concerned about it.”
Another local made the comparison between the latest fire near Arthur’s Seat and the recent blaze at the former Debenhams department store on Princes Street.
They said: “The good thing is that the crags will regenerate, vegetation will grow again after this.
“It’s not like it is a historical landmark or like the building on Princes Street where something has been destroyed for good, and from what I’ve heard no one was injured.”
In its latest update to the public, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said: “We were alerted at 6.38pm on Sunday, 19 July to reports of a fire in the open at Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.
“Operations Control mobilised six fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene where firefighters are working to extinguish a fire affecting an area of grass.
“Our crews remain on scene having worked throughout the night fighting the fire. Operations will continue until the fire is fully extinguished.
“We ask the public to please avoid the area and remind them that road closures are in place. Anyone affected by smoke should close their windows and doors.
“We also urge people to remain vigilant during this hot spell of weather, and we thank them for their understanding.”