In pictures: Huge Nevada wildfire turns Las Vegas sky red

The fire coated the air above Las Vegas in smoke

A wildfire raging in Mount Charleston, Nevada, has sent up a large plume of smoke visible from nearby Las Vegas.

The fire started as a 10-acre (four hectares; 0.04 sq km) brush fire on Sunday afternoon.

By the early evening local parks officials said it had engulfed about 5,000 acres (20 sq km).

Ray Johnson, US Forest Service fire prevention officer, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the wind was too strong for firefighters to work safely.

Crews hope the winds will drop off on Monday so they can travel to the area.

You may also be interested in:

• Africa's top shots: Firefighters, spray painters and grave diggers

• Cut negatives capture the isolation of lockdown

• The man who documented China's cultural revolution

The American Red Cross of Nevada has opened an evacuation centre in a local primary school for residents of Mount Charleston.

It is not known what caused the fire.

All images copyrighted.