Volcano spews ash 50,000 feet high

March 29, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s Mount Redoubt continued to erupt Saturday, sending one ash plume 50,000 feet into the air.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage said the volcano had a significant eruption at 1:20 a.m. Saturday and a less powerful eruption at 2 p.m.

The ash is expected to move north toward the Alaska Range, missing Anchorage, which is about 100 miles from the volcano.

After the first eruption, the observatory detected strong seismic activity lasting 20 minutes or more, followed by an hours-long low-level tremor.

“The vent has kind of opened up, and there are gasses and venting occurring. That is likely producing the tremor,” said Chris Waythomas, a geologist at the observatory.

“There is likely a lot of water vapor, which turns to ice, which gives the plumes this whitish appearance. But there is still a lot of ash in there,” he said.

Alaska Airlines, the state’s largest carrier, canceled eight flights early Saturday, but since then operations had been fairly normal, spokesman Paul McElroy said.

The airline has canceled more than 150 flights affecting an estimated 10,000 passengers since the volcanic eruptions began last Sunday. Ash can cause engines to stall.

Since the series of eruptions began Sunday night, the volcano has had about a dozen bursts. The last time the volcano erupted was during a four-month period in 1989-90.