Alaska's Mount Redoubt has another large eruption

April 5, 2009

Enlarge

An eruption plume rises above Mount Redoubt volcano, 50 miles across Cook Inlet from Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, April 4, 2009. The 10,197-foot mountain had another explosive eruption at 6 a.m. and has continued to emit ash and steam throughout the day, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. (AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, M. Scott Moon)

(AP) -- The Mount Redoubt volcano had another large eruption Saturday after being relatively quiet for nearly a week.

Radar indicated a plume of volcanic ash rose 50,000 feet into the sky, making it one of the largest eruptions since the volcano became active on March 22, said the National Weather Service.

The ash cloud was drifting toward the southeast and there were reports of the fine, gritty ash falling in towns on the Kenai Peninsula.

Plans to transfer millions of gallons of oil from an oil storage facility near Mount Redoubt were derailed when the volcano erupted and a tanker sent to get the oil had to turn back.

The explosion caused a mud flow in the Drift River Valley. The slurry of meltwater, hot rocks, volcanic ash and other debris reached the area of the Chevron-operated Drift River Terminal, where 6.3 million gallons of oil is stored in two tanks, said Rod Ficken, vice president of Cook Inlet Pipeline Co.

A concrete-reinforced dike surrounding the tank farm is continuing to do a good job of protecting the tanks, he said.

©2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

• yyz - Apr 05, 2009
  • Rank: 4.8 / 5 (4)
  These huge ash plumes reaching up to 50k feet should be visible to most Americans and possibly Europeans as enhanced twilight colors just after local sunset. I've already see a computer animation of ash clouds propagating in a wavelike manner over most of the US, so check out the colors and hues of your local sunsets and sunrises. Chances are you'll see a difference in twilight color & length.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• zevkirsh - Apr 05, 2009
  • Rank: 2.5 / 5 (2)
  i doubted that the volcanoe would explode the first time. but after the first mega explosion, i didnt redoubt that redoubt would pop again. im cracking up here.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5
• THEY - Apr 06, 2009
  • Rank: not rated yet
  yyz, when Mt St Helens blew up, the ash circled the globe 3 times before it completely dissapated. So yes, it should make for some great sunsets.
  • report abuse
  • • Current rank
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    • 5