Volcanic Ash Cloud Shuts Anchorage Airport

Alaska's Mount Redoubt has simmered down, leaving an ugly, messy coating of volcanic ash scattered over scores of communities, including the state's largest city.

Monitors at the Alaska Volcano Observatory say Redoubt was emitting only low level tremors Sunday.

The calm follows several strong eruptions on Saturday, in which plumes of ash were sent tens of thousands of feet into the air, raining down on Nikiski, a community across Cook Inlet, about 50 miles from the volcano.

A thinner layer - enough to force the shutdown of the state's largest airport - fell on Anchorage, about 100 miles northeast of the volcano.

Ash from Alaska's volcanoes is like a rock fragment with jagged edges; it has been used as an industrial abrasive.

It can injure skin, eyes and breathing passages. The young, the elderly and people with respiratory problems are especially susceptible to ash-related health problems.

Ash can also cause damage engines in planes, cars and other vehicles.

Alaska Airlines, the state's largest carrier, cancelled all flights in and out of Anchorage on Saturday afternoon because of the ash.

Since the series of eruptions began last 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.

For more info: