Alaska wildfire explodes into 500-acre firestorm

A massive fire is raging across 500 acres of Alaskan woodland.

The blaze “transformed from a small, 5-acre wildfire into a firestorm of several hundred acres,” Alaska Wildlife Fire Information said on Tuesday.

Video captured by an aircraft flying overhead shows thick plumes of white smoke rising from the flames.

Firefighters are battling the blaze, known as the Haystack Fire. Bulldozers are being used to peel vegetation up to remove burnable fuel and create a containment line. Homes are not considered threatened, the fire information service said.