Did you know that gorse fires can spread underground through their root system?!?

Gorse is a common shrub, at least in the UK, and Arthur’s Seat is covered in it. (Arthur’s Seat is an extinct volcano in the middle of Edinburgh). The yellow flowers of this shrub are so distinctive that the slopes look yellow even from miles away.

It also turns out that gorse contains flammable chemicals within it, so beyond the normal ‘burn-ability’ of dry plants, this stuff actually has its own fuel. The Scottish government guidance on this stuff says; “Unlike other vegetation types, heather and gorse are naturally flammable due to volatile compounds found within them. They may, therefore, burn with more intensity and at times of the year when other vegetation types will not.”

That gorse fires can spread underground is something I learned from a neighbour, who happens to be one of the firemen that worked two overnight shifts putting (and keeping) out the wildfire on Arthur’s Seat recently. I could see some of this from my window, although the fire was mainly on the other side:

He explained how they would put out the visible flames, only for another fire to erupt, seemingly spontaneously, thirty feet away! I was gobsmacked when he told me that. Apparently, this type of fire is also known as ‘zombie fire’ (which sounds about right).

I find it quite odd to think of a volcano on fire, not from the lava within, but from the plant life covering it burning in a wildfire.

Here is Arthur’s Seat (not on fire).

This is one of the two versions I drew of the old volcano as part of my Dreamscapes series. It’s interesting – to me at least – to look at this drawing with fresh eyes after the recent wildfire. The shaded hill areas look like burnt patches, and the dark clouds, like smoke from the fire. That wasn’t my intention at all when I drew this. I find it really intriguing how what we see in a piece of art can change so significantly depending on where our head is at. Even art we made ourselves.