Anchorage volcano activation plan rises to ‘level 2′ of 5

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The expected eruption of Mount Spurr — a volcano just 75 miles west of Alaska’s largest city — has prompted municipal officials to upgrade their activation status to level two Thursday.

The office of Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance put out a notice Thursday that the city’s Office of Emergency Management will be stepping up its activation status to level two out of five total.

It means the city’s eruption plan for Spurr will go from “normal operations” to “response incident monitoring,” according to the municipality’s description of all five levels. Level two means responding agencies could take “coordinated action.”

The Alaska Volcano Observatory said earlier this month that new magma had intruded into the Earth’s crust beneath Mount Spurr, which indicates an eruption is likely — but not certain — within the next few weeks or months.

The observatory said the most likely outcome is something similar to what occurred in 1953 and 1992.

The volcano’s aviation alert level was upgraded on Oct. 16, 2024, from “green” to “yellow” by the AVO.

LaFrance stated Thursday that the city is working to keep residents informed of any impending eruptions, which could be coming in weeks or months, according to the AVO.

“Stepping up our emergency operations one level is the appropriate move to help manage preparation and reduce community concern,” LaFrance said. “I encourage people to check in with family and be prepared if we do end up seeing some ashfall here in Anchorage.”

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