Mexican volcano

Mexico's 'Volcano of Fire' Spews Lava

Fri Oct 1, 2:27 PM ET

By GUILLERMO ARIAS, Associated Press Writer

YERBABUENA, Mexico - Western Mexico's "Volcano of Fire" unleashed a towering column of smoke and ash Friday, after ropes of burning, orange lava poured from its peak overnight.

A light coating of ash dusted nearby communities that are home to about 600 people. Authorities were on heightened alert but said they had no plans to order evacuations.

"The volcano is very active but has not yet reached a risk level that would prompt an evacuation," said Melchor Urzua, director of emergency response teams for Colima state.

Known in Spanish as "Volcan del Fuego," the 12,533-foot-high mountain straddles the border of Colima and Jalisco states, 300 miles west of Mexico City.

Earthquakes (news - web sites) and explosions of hot rock within the volcano began Wednesday, provoked by the collapse of a dome that formed recently in its center. Small landslides tumbled down the volcano's northern and western slopes. Lava flowed Thursday night and early Friday morning.

"The incandescent material won't affect nearby communities because it's running off into valleys," said Jorge Sapien, a spokesman for Jalisco emergency teams.

A major eruption in 1999 sent glowing rock three miles down its slopes and fired a plume of ash more than 5 miles high.

In 1913, an explosion created a crater 1,650 feet deep, blasted fast-moving flows of hot ash down the volcano's slopes and rained ash on Guadalajara, 75 miles to the north.

Vulcanologists consider the Colima volcano to be one of the most active and potentially the most destructive in central Mexico.

It has erupted violently dozens of times since its first recorded eruption in 1560.