A massive fire has broken out near the infamous Area 51, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and UFO enthusiasts into a panic.
A livestream camera, set up on private land just outside the heavily guarded Groom Lake facility near Rachel, Nevada, captured eerie footage of smoke rising from deep within the classified base.
The blaze was sparked by the Gothic Fire, which has grown from 8,000 acres to 35,000 since starting on July 4. It has been confirmed as a lightning-sparked wildfire.
But that hasn’t stopped speculation from spiraling online, with conspiracy theorists claiming everything from a crashed experimental craft to a cover-up gone wrong.
‘I’m not saying anything other than it was aliens,’ Skywatch Signal, a group that monitors strange sightings, shared on X.
Area 51 has become a cultural phenomenon thanks to decades of conspiracy theories connecting the base to UFOs, aliens and experimental aircraft testing.
While the fire is outside of the military base, it is currently sweeping over where above-ground nuclear testing occurred, the Nevada Test Site, which sits 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
This site, now known as the Nevada National Security Site, was established for nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War, and there is still nuclear debris and contamination in the area.
This is a developing story… More updates to come.
A livestream camera, set up on private land just outside the heavily guarded Groom Lake facility near Rachel, Nevada, captured eerie footage of smoke rising from deep within the classified base
The Gothic Fire is primarily spreading through northern Nevada, gaining fuel as high temperatures and low relative humidity hit the state.
The area is also littered with timber, specifically pinyon and juniper, and grass allowing the fire to continue its path of destruction.
It’s currently zero percent contained with no estimate on full containment.