During 18-19 February, several moderate-to-strong explosions at Fuego produced ash plumes to 0.8-1.5 km above the crater. The explosions also produced landslides of incandescent volcanic material that traveled down several ravines: Seca (to the SW), Taniluyá (to the W), Trinidad, Ceniza, and sometimes towards Las Lajas-El Jute. Small amounts of fine ash were deposited to the W in the village of Sangre de Cristo. On 22 and 23 February explosions continued, sending plumes to 1.8 km above the crater. Ash fell in the communities of La Rochela, Ceilán, El Zapote, and Guadalupe.

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: Siglo XXI News, Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Meteorologia, e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH), Prensa Libre