Fuego Volcano Erupts, Prompts Nationwide Orange Alert in Guatemala
Evacuations Underway in Villages as Authorities Close Major Highway and Suspend Classes Amid Ashfall Warnings
Image: Eddie Pollard / AI
Sarah Connor
Guatemala's Fuego volcano has erupted, spewing lava and triggering a nationwide orange alert.
Authorities have closed National Route 14, a major highway linking the south of the country to Antigua, as it passes close to the volcano.
The Education Ministry has suspended classes in nearby towns as a precautionary measure.
CONRED, the national disaster agency, declared the orange alert and warned of ashes spreading to surrounding communities.
In 2025, more Pre than 500 people were evacuated after Fuego spewed gas and ash, moving residents to shelters from communities near the crater.
Another eruption in 2023 caused the evacuation of approximately 1,200 people.
The 2018 eruption resulted in 215 fatalities in a village when rivers of lava poured down the volcano's slopes; a similar number of people were reported missing.