A massive eruption of Guatemala’s Fuego volcano has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people living on its slopes. The volcano, Central America’s most active, erupted on Monday morning, with conditions intensifying by nightfall and prompting authorities to issue the country’s second-most severe alert warning. By Tuesday, rivers of lava were streaming down the 3,763-metre volcano, which is located less than 100 kilometres from Guatemala City.
Ash rose six kilometres into the red sky, causing widespread fear among local residents. Alejandro Garcia, a 68-year-old resident, described the terrifying scenes of lava tumbling down the mountainside, saying that villagers left their homes of their own accord out of fear. Firefighters transported at least 350 residents of the El Porvenir and Las Lajitas villages to the eastward San Juan Alotenango municipality, where they are staying in a community hall with makeshift beds.
The number of people taken to other nearby towns remains unknown. Lidia Ortiz, a 40-year-old evacuee, expressed her concerns, saying that she is always afraid because the volcano doesn’t give any warning. The country’s Institute of Volcanology warned of hot volcanic debris flows down Fuego’s slopes, with communities on the western and southern flanks at the greatest risk.
Fuego had been erupting for 23 hours straight by Tuesday morning, although the intensity was easing. Guatemalan authorities urged precautions with air traffic, but there has so far been no impact on the capital’s international airport. The education ministry ordered the suspension of face-to-face classes in communities within two municipalities near the volcano, and traffic police closed a road encircling the mountain range that connects the south coast with the colonial city of Antigua.
Guatemala lies on the Pacific ‘ring of fire’ and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity, with several mass evacuations in recent years due to Fuego’s eruptions. In 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when rivers of lava poured down Fuego’s slopes and destroyed a village. Authorities evacuated more than 500 people last year after Fuego spurted gas and ash, with residents moved to shelters from communities near the crater.
Another eruption in 2023 pushed around 1,200 people to evacuate.
