Worland Fire Department authorities in the state of Wyoming in the US, uploaded a video to Facebook after going to a recycling plant following reports of an “unknown type of fire."
The video shows a fire burning in a “bowl” shaped area, and looks more like waves on the ocean rather than a burning fire hazard.
Many have been watching the one minute video repetedly, with the original footage currently sitting on two and a half million views.
One Facebook commenter wrote:“It looks like something on another planet and aliens have landed.”
The Fire Department said once they arrived, and “despite the beautiful flames”, the nature of the blaze became apparent.
The widespread social media attention prompted the department to post a warning and an explanation.
The viral video has been watched over two million times. Source: SBS
The fire was at the Smet Recycling plant and was on sulphur mounds, said the department. The deposits in rural Washakie County are leftover from the Texas Gulf Sulfur Plant that operated north of Worland in the 1950’s.
The department went on to say that a sulphur mound had ignited, creating a hazardous cloud of sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas that has a very strong, choking odour.
"This is a type of fire that is not common... Much of the sulfur is mixed heavily with soil and is not 100% sulfur concentrate," the department wrote on Facebook.
Worland Fire Department confirmed they had the fire under controll as well as the toxic gas with the help of their Hazmat Technicians.
"A minimal amount of water was used to cool the surface of the sulphur and reduce the temperature below the molten stage."
Wyoming is in the mountain region in the western United States and is known for its mining industry especially coal, oil, natural gas and trona.
No one was injured during the fire.
