An Indonesian volcano, Mount Sinabung, spit a wall of dark volcanic material almost two miles into the air
The eruption took place only weeks after local villagers were coming home, after being forced to leave by an earlier eruption, the Associated Press reported.
The volcano had erupted only last month after three years of dormancy, forcing 15,000 people to leave their homes. During the earlier eruption the volcano was "belching ash and smoke and igniting fires on its slopes," the Associated Press reported.
The regions to the east, "south and southeast" of the volcano are now covered by a blanket of volcanic ash, Indonesia's Jakarta Post reported.
The 8,530-foot volcano is reported to have covered a number of trees, farms, and even villages during its eruption, the AP reported.
"Black smoke was spurted out from the crater of the volcano from 6:00 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. local time," Sutopo said in a statement quoted by the Antara news agency, the Jakarta Post reported.
The "small explosions" were first reported on Wednesday and lasted overnight until Thursday morning.
An evacuation was issued, mostly for two villages located within two miles of the active volcano in the Karo district, the AP reported.
Authorities reported that no one was in danger, but warned that people steer clear of the "danger zone," meaning within a mile of the volcano's gaping crater.
A more serious eruption from the same volcano in August 2010 left two people dead, before this the volcano had been dormant for about 400 years.
Mount Sinabung is located on the deadly "ring of fire" which is an "arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin," the Associated Press reported. The region is known for frequent volcanic activity.
