The rise of magma beneath Mount Spurr has stalled, a Wednesday statement from the Alaska Volcano Observatory says, “and the likelihood of an eruption continues to gradually decline.”
Spurr, one of more than 50 active volcanoes in Alaska, is located about 61 miles away from Kenai and 117 miles away from Homer. Spurr has been exhibiting increased activity for more than a year and has been listed under “yellow” advisory since October.
In March, the observatory said Spurr’s eruption was “likely, but not certain, to occur within the next few weeks or months.” Since that report, activity at the volcano has declined slightly, though the observatory says in the most recent update that an eruption could still occur.
As of this week, earthquake activity and emissions of both carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide remain above baseline, but ground deformation and rising magma both have stalled.
The rise of magma could resume, the statement says, or activity could continue to decline without any eruption. The observatory has repeatedly said that if an eruption were to occur, there would be noticeable indicators that “may provide days to weeks of additional warning.”
Mapping of possible ash cloud trajectories from the observatory has consistently shown a high likelihood of ash traveling north or west, away from the Kenai Peninsula. Brenda Ahlberg, the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s emergency manager, said in March that if ash were to fall on the peninsula, there would be some hours between the eruption and when ash could arrive. The borough will communicate during any emergency using its KPB Alerts system, which residents can enroll in at info.kpb.us to receive text message alerts.
There are resources at that same site, info.kpb.us, that describe what to do before, during and after an eruption. A livestream of Mount Spurr is available on YouTube.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
