Loading articles...

Alaska volcano erupts again, sends ash cloud to 31,000 feet

Last Updated Jan 18, 2017 at 9:20 pm MDT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Alaska volcano active since mid-December has erupted again.

Bogoslof Volcano in the Aleutian lslands erupted at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday and sent up an ash cloud estimated at 31,000 feet.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the aviation threat code to red, the highest level. Ash clouds higher than 20,000 feet are a threat to intercontinental jet aircraft because ash can damage engines.

The cloud height was reported by pilots.

Satellite imagery indicates the cloud was moving to the northeast over the Bering Sea.

Bogoslof Volcano is 850 miles southwest of Anchorage. The volcano erupted Dec. 16 and more than a dozen times since.