INSIVUMEH reported that during 24-25 and 27-29 March explosions at Fuego generated ash plumes that rose 550-950 m above the crater and drifted 6-12 km SE, S, SW, and W. Incandescent material was ejected 200 m high on 25 March, producing avalanches within the crater and down the Trinidad (S), Ceniza (SSW), and Taniluyá (SW) drainages. On 29 March ashfall was reported Sangre de Cristo (8 km WSW) and Panimaché I and II (8 km SW).

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.

Source: Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH)