Posted on 05/30/2005 7:03:43 PM PDT by PeaceBeWithYou
SAN MARCOS, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexico's "Fire Volcano" spewed a column of rock, ash and lava almost three miles into the sky on Monday in its largest eruption for at least 15 years, civil protection officials said.The government was considering evacuating tiny communities around the 12,540-foot (3,860 meter) Colima volcano in the western state of the same name after the predawn eruption.
"It's the largest explosion in the past 15 years and we are monitoring it because the activity is increasing, though gradually," said federal civil protection coordinator Carmen Segura. "If necessary we will carry out evacuations."
A shower of volcano ash closed the airport at the city of Colima 19 miles away and lava crept down the side of the mountain.
"The lava is very dense and is moving slowly. It has caused the grass to burn," Melchor Ursua, head of civil protection in the Pacific coast state.
He said the explosion was the biggest for 20 years.
Last week, the volcano, located in a sparsely populated rural area about 300 miles from the Mexican capital, belched lava and glowing rocks but prompted no evacuations.
Locals in the village of San Marcos, long used to eruptions, said they were more concerned about livestock grazing on the slopes of the volcano than their own lives.
"I am worried because I have animals over there. The poor little things are going to burn," said Monica Trujillo, 63, who has 40 cows on the volcano slopes.
By afternoon, no smoke could be seen coming from the volcano, shrouded in clouds and a heat haze. A light covering of brownish ash lay on the ground.
Villagers in the areas were last evacuated in May 2002, after a series of small blasts. The volcano's last major eruption was in 1913, but it has blown up intermittently in the last decade.
The Fire Volcano has been Mexico's most active volcano in recent years. Another volcano, Popocatepetl, stands near Mexico City, home to some 20 million people.
(Additional reporting by Miguel Angel Gutierrez)
works for me...thanks
I think this is from last week as mentioned in the article
It's called "barbecue", Monica, and it's not bad.
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