Photos show lava spewing from Guatemala’s Fuego volcano as evacuations are ordered

Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupted again Monday, prompting authorities to order evacuations in nearby communities.

The eruption started Monday morning and had intensified by nightfall. Photos show lava and huge plumes of ash spewing nearly 4 miles into the air. 

Live images Tuesday morning showed big clouds of gas and ash over the volcano.

Guatemala’s disaster coordination agency, CONRED, on Monday issued a nationwide orange alert. The alert level is one below the highest level of red, which indicates the most serious emergency.

Officials on Monday began evacuating two villages near the volcano, which is located 22 miles from the capital, Guatemala City.

Footage released by the emergency services showed the powerful eruption turning clouds red and lava flowing down the slopes of the 12,346-foot volcano.

“These flows are mixtures of volcanic gases, ash, rocks, and high temperatures that move rapidly down the volcano’s slopes,” CONRED said in a news alert Tuesday.

Officials also warned of ash falling on nearby communities.

The country’s Institute of Volcanology warned in a statement that the volcano was “moving towards a more explosive phase.”

It warned of hot volcanic debris flows down Fuego’s slopes, with communities on the western and southern flanks at the greatest risk.

Guatemala lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity. Fuego is one of Central America’s most active volcanoes, causing several mass evacuations in recent years.

Authorities evacuated more than 500 people last year after Fuego spewed gas and ash, with residents moved to shelters from communities near the crater.

Another eruption from Fuego in 2023 caused the evacuation of around 1,200 people.

In 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when rivers of lava poured down the volcano’s slopes, devastating a nearby village.