The Alaska Volcano Observatory is closely monitoring the activity being spurred by volcanic processes underneath Mount Spurr, an active stratovolcano only 78 miles away from Anchorage.

A flurry of ongoing earthquakes has kept the volcano’s Current Volcano Alert Level at Yellow, the “Advisory” level, since October 2024.

“Unrest continues at Mount Spurr, with ongoing earthquake activity,” reads a Friday update posted by the Alaska Volcano Observatory. “Seismicity remains elevated with frequent small volcanic earthquakes detected beneath the volcano over the past day.”

Eruptions of similar volcanoes have caused international chaos, which is why scientists are keeping close tabs on Mount Spurr’s activity. Nothing can prevent its eruption, but there should be enough warning to proactively plan for what’s to come.

“Last week, based on a decline in seismicity and deformation, we said that the likelihood of an eruption in the coming weeks to months had declined since mid-March,” said Matthew Haney, scientist-in-charge of the Alaska Volcano Observatory. “Our mid-March assessment was that an eruption scenario of size similar to the last eruption in 1992 was more likely than a non-eruption in the coming weeks to months.”

From Wyoming With Love

Mount Spurr last erupted in 1992 and sent its ash thousands of miles, including in the upper atmosphere over Wyoming, although it didn’t result in ashfall. Another eruption could do the same, which could impact air travel.

Yellowstone is the only active volcano in Wyoming, and its last major eruption occurred over 600,000 years ago. While that eruption was probably among the most cataclysmic events of the last million years, several studies have affirmed that its current and future threat is minimal.

“A volcanic eruption of Yellowstone doesn’t appear to be something that’s going to happen anytime soon,” said Mike Poland, scientist-in-charge of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. “There’s not a lot of molten magma in a liquid form that’s eruptible, and there are no eruptive vents in the part of the volcanic system where it’s located.”

Hydrothermal explosions, like the one observed at Black Diamond Pool in Biscuit Basin last year, are the real dangers lurking underground in Yellowstone. Several other explosions have been documented since the placid pool blew itself up on July 23, which means the thermal basin will probably remain closed for the 2025 summer season.

The explosion was caused by the incredible energy created by the rapid transition of water to steam, within 100 feet of the surface. It was utterly detached from any of the volcanic activity located miles below. 

Poland and other scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory are trying to determine if it’s possible to detect hydrothermal explosions before they happen. They have installed new equipment at Biscuit Basin to see what they can learn in the aftermath of the explosions at Black Diamond Pool.

There’s a lot to learn from the ongoing activity under Yellowstone. Its volcanic innards are still somewhat active, but it won’t be blowing its top — or doing much of anything — anytime soon. 

Mount Spurr is over 2,000 miles from Yellowstone, yet it poses a bigger threat to Wyomingites than Yellowstone.

“Ash from the 1992 Spurr eruption went over the Lower 48 as an ash cloud in the upper atmosphere, but it did not result in ashfall in the Lower 48,” Haney said. “If a similar eruption occurred as a result of the current unrest, such an ash cloud could go over the lower 48 and affect air travel if the winds were directed toward the Lower 48.”

Even if Mount Spurr explosively erupted tomorrow, it’d be over and done long before it could severely impact the Cowboy State, which says a lot about the current threat posed by the supervolcano in our neighborhood.

“The more we understand Yellowstone, the more we can understand similar systems, and vice versa,” Poland said. “Yellowstone remains a wonderful example of similar volcanic systems around the world. When we understand more about Yellowstone through studies like this, we can apply that to other volcanoes worldwide.”

Studying Shallowness

Mount Spurr is the highest peak at the eastern edge of the Aleutian Arc, the string of volcanic islands that stretches into the Pacific Ocean from the southwest corner of Alaska. The entire expanse is an actively volcanic region with frequent earthquakes and eruptions.

Poland hesitated to say that an eruption of Mount Spurr was “imminent.” While the ongoing activity needs to be monitored, it doesn’t suggest any immediate threat.  

“Saying ‘imminent’ might imply that it’s about to erupt at any moment,” he said. “Spurr is definitely showing signs of increased activity, but the assessment of the Alaska Volcano Observatory is that there’s a roughly equal likelihood of it erupting or going back to sleep. That’s the challenge with these sorts of volcanoes.”

Much of what’s being observed at Mount Spurr is shallow magmatic activity, meaning it’s subterranean but near the surface. Magma has yet to breach the surface (when it becomes lava), but an increasing amount of it is gathering within a mile of the surface under the volcano.

For comparison, even if the bulk of Yellowstone’s magma chamber is solid, there is some fluid magma churning in its depths. However, it’s over three miles deep – too far from the surface, but an encouraging sign for anyone in fear of a supervolcanic eruption in northwest Wyoming.

Magma within a mile of breaching Mount Spurr has spurred some concern, but the verdict’s still out on what it’ll do from there. According to Poland, a lot can happen in the mile between the magma and the mountain.

“Magma can get quite close to the surface and stall,” he said. “The chances of an eruption are much higher now than they were a few years ago, when there wasn’t any magmatic activity at shallow levels. But we don’t know if the growing amount of shallow magma will have the oomph it needs to get to the surface and erupt.”

Skyfall

If Mount Spurr erupts, its magma wouldn’t be of much concern. The primary threat presented by Mount Spurr would come from volcanic ash.

“The last eruption was in 1992,” said Haney. “There were three explosions on June 27, Aug. 18, and Sept. 16-17. The Aug. 18 explosion occurred when winds were directed toward Anchorage and resulted in an eighth of an inch of ashfall in Anchorage, which closed the Anchorage International Airport for 20 hours.”

A column of ash from Mount Spurr rose over 65,000 feet into the atmosphere. It reached the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s northern coast over 625 miles away, before being blown south and dissipating over Canada.

Volcanic ash can be hazardous to human health, but it’s particularly lethal to anyone flying on an airplane with a jet engine. The heat and power of a jet engine are high enough to melt the ash into volcanic glass, then solidify it on its turbines as it’s blown out.

That can and has caused planes to crash, which is why Mount Spurr is being monitored so closely.

“Anchorage is a good-sized city, and the airport is a large hub for cargo and passengers,” Poland said. “If there is an explosive eruption that puts ash into the atmosphere, warnings would need to be put out immediately to make sure airplanes can avoid the area.”

In 2010, a stratovolcano on the southern coast of Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull, erupted. It disrupted international travel across the Atlantic Ocean for six days, the highest disruption of air travel since World War II.

The impact of Eyjafjallajökull’s eruption was exacerbated by several factors, including its position under the jet stream, the power of the eruption, and the massive ice sheet it erupted through, which increased its strength. That’s why its brief eruption became a massive trans-Atlantic incident.

Mount Spurr isn’t as much of an international threat as Eyjafjallajökull, but an explosive eruption would still cause some international and economic disturbances. That’s why it’s crucial to get as much advance warning as possible.

“The main risks of a Mount Spurr eruption are ashfall and its effect on aviation operations in and out of the international airport and other regional airports,” Haney said.

Plenty Of Time (If Needed)

The latest prognosis from the Alaska Volcano Observatory is that Mount Spurr is quieting down a bit.  The amount of ground deformation, caused by shallow magmatic activity, has decreased over the last three weeks, and no sulfur dioxide, the most common gas released during volcanic eruptions, has been detected in the vicinity.

Nevertheless, nobody’s letting their guard down. Poland said lessons from the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull and previous incidents, like the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, have been well-learned.

“When Eja erupted, the global volcanology community had a zero-tolerance policy,” Poland said. “We didn’t know what concentration of ash in the atmosphere was accepted for air travel, and we didn’t have good models of how the ash was circulating in the atmosphere. Since then, we’ve put a lot of effort into understanding those things.”

New technologies and improved methodologies have given scientists more information, which will increase their confidence once they advise the world about what must be done to avoid the worst of a volcanic eruption.

Haney and Poland said the odds of a disruption as significant as the one caused by Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 are “very, very low.” Additionally, Mount Spurr isn’t large or well-positioned enough to cause a disturbance on that scale.

Nevertheless, Anchorage will remain uneasy until Mount Spurr settles down. The capital of Alaska has the most at stake if the volcano across the bay blows its top. 

“It’s definitely a concern in the Anchorage area,” Poland said, “but if there is a big ash plume in the atmosphere, all our models and measurements will be put into play to understand where it’s going and the impact it might have. Unless it’s a huge eruption, which isn’t how Mount Spurr typically behaves, the impact in the Anchorage area could be significant, but quite light everywhere else.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.

LARAMIE — Who won today’s annual Brown and Gold Spring Game inside War Memorial Stadium?

Wyoming did.

That’s not some cheeky dad joke, either.

This coaching staff just sweated out a grueling 10-day spring transfer portal window, mainly unscathed, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Agents, boosters and other shady characters have filled the inbox of some of the program’s most-recognizable names this offseason, attempting to lure them away in the name of the almighty dollar.

Let’s face it, this was a 3-9 squad with talent to burn. Admittedly, some of the offers were tempting, too.

It all seemed ripe for the picking, right?

Wrong.

“I know everybody sometimes goes into doom and gloom about, how can we keep people? We kept them, all right? That’s the biggest thing,” an impassioned Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said postgame. “… There’s guys on this team that, all the way up till Friday, are getting dinged on by all these third-party people.”

The 54-year-old wasn’t ready to get off the soapbox quite yet.

Who could blame him?

“This is a really good day for University of Wyoming football, because you have a couple of high-line players that could have went to (teams) that were in the playoff, you know? I mean, you look at it and go, ‘How do you know all this stuff?’ It’s a bunch of b—— when people can reach out to people and go, ‘Hey, you can go here for this much money and this stuff’ — and they stayed.

“Look, we lost one guy during spring practice, and he wasn’t in my Top 25. So we’re good.”

That guy was Keany Parks, a starting cornerback who yesterday inked with the University of Houston.

There have been others, too. Twenty-one of them this offseason, to be exact.

Sawvel said after the season finale at Washington State, he made a list of 10 players this program couldn’t afford to lose.

Tampering and back-channeling be damned, nine of those remain, he added, including arguably the most important piece being quarterback Kaden Anderson.

Make no mistake, that’s the most important position in all of sports. Around these parts, we know all too well what inconsistency at that position can cause.

Anderson, a 6-foot-4, 221-pound sophomore from Southlake, Texas, will likely be handed the keys to Jay Johnson’s offense in 2025. In just three starts last season, he threw for 578 yards and four touchdowns.

More importantly, he connected on nearly 60% of his throws.

“It’s out there. People DM you and stuff and say all this stuff,” the laidback signal caller said with a grin. “You don’t really pay too much attention to it. You know, put trust in God’s plan. You know, He’s got a plan for you. Like I said in a couple interviews during the season, at the end of the day, it’s you and the guys in locker room. Don’t listen to outside noise.”

MORE UW FOOTBALL NEWS VIA 7220SPORTS:

* Behind the numbers: Wyoming spring football game

* Gold Team prevails 21-7 in Wyoming spring game

* Pokes host annual Brown and Gold Spring game Saturday

* Wyoming loses starting cornerback to transfer portal

* Wyoming’s Dante Drake has been a menace in the trenches

* Cowboys plan to add another QB after Batiste departure

* Wyoming’s rookie corner is turning heads this spring

* Double or nothing: Pokes’ makeshift front five falters late

* Wyoming looking to add to roster with spring portal looming

* Can Wyoming’s Gary Rutherford snag a starting gig?: ‘No doubt’

* Wyoming cornerback to enter NCAA Transfer Portal

* Caleb Robinson: ‘He was missed last year, for sure’

* Sawvel: It’s a ‘wide open’ battle for back-up QB spot

* Cowboy football enters third week of spring camp

* Hendricks on edge rushers: ‘Production pays the bills’

* Gary Harrell named running backs coach at Wyoming

John Michael Gyllenborg could’ve played anywhere in the country, according to his head coach. Shannon Moore, his position coach, called him the best tight end in the nation.

Plenty of others obviously believe that to be true.

The 6-foot-5 senior hauled in 30 balls for 425 yards and three scores in 2024. Injuries hampered him throughout, but we’ve all seen the flashes.

It’s not a stretch to think he will hear his name called by an NFL team around this time next season.

How did he handle that outside noise?

“Well, leaving was never really an option for me,” Gyllenborg said, adding it wasn’t a tough decision to cap his college career in Laramie. “I think for most guys, including myself, the real temptations were after the season. I mean, there are just no regulations, so everything was being thrown at a lot of us, including me. That was a time to really reflect and think about what each of us wanted.”

What does he want?

“We’ve got a good core group of guys here that it just wasn’t a hard decision for us,” he continued. “We knew we were going to stay. We want to stay, turn this program around from what it was last year and win. That’s really what it was — win.”

Running back Sam Scott is back in the mix, too. He led the Cowboys with 435 rushing yards and three touchdowns last fall. He will be joined in the backfield by a whole host of youth, including Charlotte transfer Terron Kellman, who proved to be a load this spring.

Jaylen Sargent and Chris Durr Jr., the Cowboys’ Top-2 outside targets last fall will again be relied upon to take the next step. The latter amassed 348 yards through the air. He made the circus catches. He was deadly on the third down.

Sargent, a 6-foot-2 senior, stayed patient throughout his first three years in the program. That ultimately paid off in October when he ran under a 70-yard touchdown pass against San Diego State. Two weeks later, he caught a career-high six balls for 186 yards and a score in a road victory at New Mexico.

It’s not just the skill guys who will suit up for the Cowpokes this fall, either.

Three of the most important pieces to the process, Sawvel said, are back in the saddle: Jack Walsh, Caden Barnett and Wes King. This trio will be lining up at center, right and left guard, respectively.

Rex Johnsen should man the right tackle spot. Nate Geiger, who suffered a torn ACL 11 plays into the 2024 season, could again find himself on the right edge.

Sawvel joked that he told Walsh Friday, “Welp, 12 more hours of this portal stuff.”

His response: “F— it!”

“I always say, you can’t put a price on loyalty,” Walsh added. “I’m very happy and proud of all the guys that decide to stay here, guys going into their fifth year at one place. You know, it’s special here.

“I couldn’t see myself anywhere else.”

We all knew this defense was going to receive a major overhaul this winter.

It has.

Starters Sabastian Harsh, Wrook Brown, Jaden Williams, Tyrecus Davis and Parks all left in free agency. Both safeties — Isaac White and Wyett Ekeler — exhausted their eligibility. So did linebackers Shae Suiaunoa and Connor Shay. Jordan Bertagnole graduated. So did DeVonne Harris.

You might recall, last year’s defense ranked 103rd overall out of 133 FBS teams, allowing nearly 411 yards an outing.

Remember the debacle in Albuquerque?

There are plenty of unknowns on that side of the ball, but there has been a serious upgrade, across the board, if you ask Sawvel.

That portal you loathe so much, believe it or not, works both ways.

Justin Taylor picked off a pass in Saturday’s spring game. So did Brooklyn Cheek. Those are transfer safeties, the first from Wisconsin. The second played at Cal. Gary Rutherford, a redshirt freshman linebacker from Peoria, Ill., also hauled in an interception in this one.

Don’t be surprised if he’s in the starting lineup Aug. 28 at Akron.

Edge rusher Tyce Westland deserves his flowers for loyalty, too. So does tackle Ben Florentine. Both have a number of starts under their collective belt and would be attractive to other programs. You can throw Dante Drake and Jayden Williams’ names in that conversation, too.

This is the squad that will look to bring this state, university and fanbase its first outright conference championship since 1988.

It’s finally official.

“We have the makings of a good football team,” Sawvel said. “…  I think we’re a better football team than what we were a year ago at this time, but I think we have a lot of work to do.”

– University of Wyoming’s Top 50 Football Players

Mostly sunny in much of Wyoming on Saturday. Breezy in some areas. Highs from the upper 50s to the mid 70s. Lows from the low 30s to the mid 40s. 

Central:  

Casper:  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 31 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph.

Riverton:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 73 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 37.

Shoshoni:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 72 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 39.

Southwest:  

Evanston:  Sunny today with a high near 64 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 33.

Green River:  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a low near 39 and wind gusts as high as 28 mph.

Lyman:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 66 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 36.

Western Wyoming:  

Pinedale:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 59 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 32. 

Alpine:  Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 66 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 34.

Big Piney:  Breezy, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 62 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 30 and wind gusts as high as 22 mph.

Northwest:  

Dubois:  Slight chance of rain after 3 p.m., otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 58 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 33.

Jackson:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 63 and wind gusts as high as 20 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 33.

Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park:  Partly sunny today with a high near 55 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 27.

Bighorn Basin:  

Thermopolis:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 72 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 40.

Cody:  Partly sunny today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 42.

Greybull:  Mostly sunny today with a high near 72 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 43.

North Central:  

Buffalo:  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 44.

Sheridan:  Gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 70 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 40.

Ranchester:  Patchy fog before 9 a.m., otherwise gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 69 and partly cloudy overnight with a low near 42.

Northeast:  

Gillette:  Gradually clearing skies and breezy today with a high near 71 and wind gusts as high as 38 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 43 and wind gusts as high as 23 mph.

Newcastle:  Slight chance of rain before 9 a.m., otherwise gradually clearing skies and breezy today with a high near 64 and wind gusts as high as 33 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 24 mph.

Hulett:  Gradually clearing skies today with a high near 70 and wind gusts as high as 26 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 45 and wind gusts as high as 17 mph.

Eastern Plains:  

Torrington:  Slight chance of rain after noon, gradually clearing and breezy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before midnight and a low near 44.

Douglas:  Breezy, gradually becoming sunny today with a high near 75 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 37.

Midwest:  Mostly sunny and breezy today with a high near 73 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 21 mph.

Southeast:  

Cheyenne:  Chance of rain mainly after noon, otherwise gradually clearing and breezy today with a high near 67 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Partly cloudy overnight with a slight chance of rain before midnight and a low near 40.

Laramie:  Slight chance of rain after noon, otherwise mostly sunny today with a high near 66 and mostly clear overnight with a low near 37.

Pine Bluffs:  Chance of rain, otherwise gradually clearing and breezy today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Partly cloudy and breezy overnight with a chance of rain before midnight, a low near 42 and wind from 10-20 mph.

South Central:  

Rawlins:  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 68 and wind gusts as high as 35 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 38 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.

Encampment:  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 66 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Mostly clear overnight with a low near 38.

Wamsutter:  Sunny and breezy today with a high near 67 and wind gusts as high as 36 mph. Mostly clear and breezy overnight with a low near 37 and wind gusts as high as 30 mph.