Western Mexico's "Volcano of Fire" began erupting Thursday, spewing ash four miles into the air, forcing the evacuation of everyone in a nearly eight-mile radius.
Agence France-Presse reported via Yahoo News that Yerbabuena, a village at the foot of the mountain, was blanketed with two inches of ash and cinders from the Colima volcano.
National civil protection coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said that the villages "are very small and don't exceed 800 inhabitants." Governor Mario Anguiano Moreno also announced that the eruption had forced the closing of the Colima airport.
In a statement the interior ministry said that the eruption was "atypical, presenting conditions similar to those of 1913." The ministry said further that the eruption could wan, crescendo into a larger eruption like in 1913, and/or the volcano's dome could collapse.
More than 70 evacuees were initially reported.