Alaska Volcano Observatory warns of potential eruption near Anchorage

The Alaska Volcano Observatory on Wednesday said Mount Spurr is at risk of erupting within the next few weeks or months, potentially impacting residents 78 miles away in the city of Anchorage.

“The increase in gas emissions confirms that new magma has intruded into the Earth’s crust beneath the volcano and indicates that an eruption is likely, but not certain, to occur within the next few weeks or months,” the observatory wrote in an information statement.

Elevated volcanic gas emissions were observed at the mountain Tuesday.

Steaming has not been observed within Mount Spurr’s Crater Peak for more than 17 years.

The last known eruptions at Crater Peak occurred in 1953 and 1992, while the last known eruption from Spurr summit occurred several thousand years ago.

Those eruptions each lasted a few hours and produced ash clouds that were carried downwind for hundreds of miles and minor ashfall, up to about a quarter inch, on south-central Alaska communities, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s release.

“At the current level of unrest, we plan to conduct routine overflights to measure gas emissions, evaluate surface changes, and measure ground surface temperatures,” the observatory wrote.

“We are considering adding additional monitoring instruments in response to the current unrest.”

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