Alaska volcano erupts; ash trace reaches city

This photo taken Dec. 21, 2016 and provided by Lynda Lybeck Robinson shows the Bogoslof Volcano erupting in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The active Alaska volcano, which has erupted 10 times since mid-December and is located about 850 miles southwest of Anchorage, erupted again Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017, this time sending a cloud of ash and ice 35,000 feet in the air. (Lynda Lybeck Robinson via AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Trace amounts of ash and the smell of sulfur reached an Alaska city after the latest eruption of a volcano in the Aleutian Islands.

Bogoslof (BOH-gohs-lawf) Volcano erupted late Monday night. The ash cloud reached 25,000 feet high and the Alaska Volcano Observatory raised the aviation code to the highest warning level.

Traces of ash reached the city of Unalaska (un-ah-LAH-ska) about 61 miles southeast of the volcano. Ash in larger amounts can be a health risk and can damage equipment.

The observatory says the volcano was quieting down Tuesday. By 7:30 a.m., strong explosive activity had subsided or ended and the observatory was not detecting infrasound signals or lightning related to strong ash emissions.

Bogoslof has erupted more than 25 times since mid-December.