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Volcano eruption in Aleutian Islands sparks aviation alert

In this Sunday, March 27, 2016, photo, Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska’s most active volcanoes, erupts, sending a plume of volcanic ash into the air. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says activity continued Monday. Pavlof Volcano is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. (Colt Snapp via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT In this Sunday, March 27, 2016, photo, Pavlof Volcano, one of Alaska’s most active volcanoes, erupts, sending a plume of volcanic ash into the air. The Alaska Volcano Observatory says activity continued Monday. Pavlof Volcano is 625 miles southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula, the finger of land that sticks out from mainland Alaska toward the Aleutian Islands. (Colt Snapp via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

By Associated Press December 21, 2016 1 min read

The Alaska Volcano Observatory has issued its highest level of alert for aviation after what it says was a brief eruption of a volcano on the Aleutian Islands on Tuesday.

The observatory says pilots reported the Bogoslof volcano on Bogoslof Island, which is part of the Aleutian Islands, erupted about 4 p.m. Alaska time.

The pilots told the observatory that a volcanic ash cloud rose to 34,000 feet.

The observatory says in a press release that satellite data show a short-lived explosion just before 4 p.m. that drifted to the south about 15 minutes later. The observatory says a subsequent pilot report at 4:50 p.m. said the volcanic activity had decreased.