A huge blaze has broken out on the slopes of Italy's Mount Vesuvius and near the city of Naples, prompting an evacuation of tourists and local residents for the second time in a week.

The huge pillars of smoke from fires raging through the forests on the slopes of Vesuvius rose to more than 2 kilometers up in the air and were also 2 kilometers wide at the top, AP reports. Clearly visible from Naples, the smoke deceived some people into believing that the volcano was erupting.

The local weather channel 3B Meteo compared images of the fires with pictures of the volcano's most recent eruption in 1944, which destroyed three villages.

Many tourists, who were visiting the famous archeological site of the Ancient Roman city of Pompeii, not far from Naples, also witnessed huge clouds of smoke darkening the skies.

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https://www.rt.com/news/396046-vesuvius-on-fire-smoke-engulfs-volcano/