Free Republic

Airplanes are being warned to avoid airspace near an erupting Alaska volcano as it spews ash 30,000 feet above sea level. The National Weather Service said Saturday ash is being blown to the west and northwest of Pavlof Volcano. Pavlof began erupting three days ago, pushing lava out from a vent near its summit. On Friday, the ash cloud reached 16,000 feet. Alaska Volcano Observatory Geophysicist Dave Schneider says the eruption intensified at 6 a.m. Saturday, sending the ash cloud higher.

One of Alaska's most active volcanoes could be working toward a massive eruption that could affect air travel but was not expected to threaten any of the towns in the area, scientists said Thursday. Satellite images of Pavlof Volcano taken Thursday showed strong thermal readings, consistent with what the Alaska Volcano Observatory is calling a "vigorous eruption of lava" at the volcano about 590 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. The volcano is below the path of hundreds of daily international flight paths, and an explosive eruption could interrupt those operations, said Steve McNutt, a volcano seismologist with...