During 28-29 October, INSIVUMEH reported that explosions from Fuego produced ash plumes that rose 300-600 m above the crater. Incandescent material was ejected 75 m above the crater, and rumbling and degassing sounds were occasionally heard. Avalanches descended the W flank. On 18 October, ashfall was reported in Sangre de Cristo, 10 km WSW. Based on analyses of satellite imagery, the Washington VAAC reported that on 31 October an ash cloud was detected up to 20 km W of Fuego.

Geological Summary. Volcán Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, is also one of three large stratovolcanoes overlooking Guatemala's former capital, Antigua. The scarp of an older edifice, Meseta, lies between Fuego and Acatenango to the north. Construction of Meseta dates back to about 230,000 years and continued until the late Pleistocene or early Holocene. Collapse of Meseta may have produced the massive Escuintla debris-avalanche deposit, which extends about 50 km onto the Pacific coastal plain. Growth of the modern Fuego volcano followed, continuing the southward migration of volcanism that began at the mostly andesitic Acatenango. Eruptions at Fuego have become more mafic with time, and most historical activity has produced basaltic rocks. Frequent vigorous historical eruptions have been recorded since the onset of the Spanish era in 1524, and have produced major ashfalls, along with occasional pyroclastic flows and lava flows.

Sources: Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)