This is the moment an eerie orange glow from a hillside wildfire loomed over a city in Russia.

The blaze broke out on January 3 on the slopes near Tyrnyauz, in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, reportedly caused by a discarded match or an out-of-control campfire.

It quickly spread across 7,534 square feet (700 square metres) of forest and dry grasslands.

Disturbing video footage shows the slopes outlined in orange flames as an inferno rips across them, lighting up the night sky.

People were seen walking in the streets, and traffic continued on nearby roads despite the raging fire.

The wildfire follows an earlier blaze that scorched 10,000 square metres before being contained by firefighters and forestry workers.