MEXICO CITY - Mexico's so-called "Fire Volcano" spewed a column of rock, ash and lava almost three miles (4.8 km) into the sky on Monday in its largest eruption in 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 do evacuations."
Last week, the volcano, located in a sparsely populated rural area about 300 miles (500 km) from the Mexican capital, belched lava and glowing rocks but prompted no evacuations.
Villagers were last evacuated in May 2002, after a series of small eruptions. The volcano's last major eruption was in 1913, but it has blown up intermittently in the last decade.
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
