Arthur's Seat fire: Plumes of smoke as wildfire breaks out on Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat

Plumes of smoke could be seen coming from the city landmark from miles around on Sunday afternoon.

Fire crews have been on the scene in Holyrood Park since shortly after 4pm when the blaze was seen spreading across the 250-metre extinct volcano.

READ MORE: 10 pictures show flames on Arthur’s Seat

Police Scotland warned motorists and pedestrians should avoid Holyrood Park and the surrounding area while emergency services deal with the fire.

Supporters at Sunday’s Hibernian v Kilmarnock match were reportedly told to avoid the Willowbrae, Duddingston and Holyrood areas when leaving the Easter Road stadium.

The cause of the blaze is unknown at this time.

The fire comes at the busiest time of the year for the Scottish capital with the Edinburgh Fringe in full swing.

Oasis also performed two sold-out gigs at Murrayfield Stadium on Friday and Saturday to some 70,000 fans.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) said it had received a number of calls from the public warning them about the fire.

The blaze comes about a month after Scotland experienced what is believed to be the biggest wildfire incident in the country’s history.

Two separate fires within a few miles of each other ripped through Dava Moor in Moray and near Carrbridge in the Highlands at the end of June.

Combined, they affected 29,225 acres (11,827 hectares) of land - an area almost 50 times bigger than Holyrood Park.

The SFRS said, on average, it attends 170 large outdoor fires each year.

Multiple wildfire warnings have been issued this year with several fires happening across Scotland as the country experiences a particularly warm and dry summer.

Several whisky distilleries in Speyside had to shut down production earlier than usual for the summer and some houses ran dry due low water levels on the River Spey and water scarcity issues.

Concerns have been raised across Scotland about the projected increase in wildfire incidents.

Earlier this week, landowner Jamie Williamson, at Alvie Estate, near Kingussie in the Highlands, warned wildfires are only going to get worse and more frequent.

Writing in the Scotsman, he said: “Warmer, wetter winters combined with warmer summer months is resulting in more vegetation growth. A build-up of rank and dead vegetation is adding to fuel loads where it is not managed by herbivores or human intervention.”

There is ongoing pressure from rural groups, including Scottish Land and Estates, the National Farmers Union Scotland, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, on the Scottish Government to make changes to its new muirburn licensing scheme.

Muirburn is the controlled burning of heather for game conservation but is also an effective wildfire management tool that has been recommended by the SFRS.

The provisions of new policy would require a licence to be in place for all muirburn activity including on non-peatland.

Rural groups said the complex nature of mapping peat depth, establishing survey data and preparing licence applications would make carrying out the practice a lot more challenging.

They warned the new policy would create unworkable conditions for muirburn to happen and therefore increase wildfire risk.

Other conservation groups advocating for muirburn licensing argue restoring peatlands and “re-wetting” the land is a preferred wildfire management tool.

Meanwhile, Spain has been reporting success stories on the use of goats to help control wildfires.

Scorching heat sparks wildfires in countries across southern Europe ravaging vast swathes of land each year.

In Catalonia last year, despite being in the third year of the worst drought in a century, the number of outbreaks went down, with the regional government attributing the decline to improved fire prevention measures, including the use of goats.

With a big appetite, the ruminants are hugely effective for creating natural fire breaks by grazing vegetation, including brush and other combustible materials.