Indonesia Evacuates Thousands on Flores Island After Volcano Spews Clouds of Ash 

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews hot lava in Flores Timur, Nusa Tenggara, Timur province on January 11, 2024. (AFP)
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews hot lava in Flores Timur, Nusa Tenggara, Timur province on January 11, 2024. (AFP)
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Indonesia Evacuates Thousands on Flores Island After Volcano Spews Clouds of Ash 

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews hot lava in Flores Timur, Nusa Tenggara, Timur province on January 11, 2024. (AFP)
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki spews hot lava in Flores Timur, Nusa Tenggara, Timur province on January 11, 2024. (AFP)

Indonesia has evacuated about 6,500 people on the island of Flores after Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano spewed thick clouds of brownish ash for the past days, authorities said on Monday.

No casualties or major damage have been reported so far.

The eruptions in East Nusa Tenggara province are part of hot gas spills that have become more frequent in recent days. The 1,584-meter (5,197 foot) mountain is one of the “twin volcanoes” — the Lewotobi Laki-laki and Lewotobi Perempuan — in the Flores Timur district.

The volcano has erupted 40 times since Sunday, with columns of hot clouds rising 500-1,500 meters (1,600-4,900 feet) into the air.

Residents in nearby villages were taken in by relatives or brought to evacuation centers as authorities raised the volcano’s alert status to the highest level last Tuesday.

Officials urge the local community, as well as visitors and tourists, to stay away from a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) radius around the eruption zone and be aware of the potential for cold lava surging into rivers upstream from the peak in case of intense rain.

Lewotobi Laki-laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

Meanwhile, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia’s Mount Marapi erupted again on Sunday, for the second time since December, spewing smoke and ash high into the air, but no casualties were reported. At least 100 residents were evacuated there since Friday.



Massive New Los Angeles-area Fire Balloons as Winds Pick Up

Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
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Massive New Los Angeles-area Fire Balloons as Winds Pick Up

Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu
Firefighters battle the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, north of Santa Clarita, California, US January 22, 2025. REUTERS/Ringo Chiu

Powerful winds and bone-dry conditions were expected to pose a challenge to firefighters battling new wildfires in southern California on Thursday, including a new blaze that swelled over the past day, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate north of Los Angeles.

The Hughes fire, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles, grew to 10,176 acres (4,118 hectares) since igniting on Wednesday morning, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, said on its website.

The 4,000 firefighters battling the blaze have achieved 14% containment, a measure of the percentage of a fire's perimeter that is under control, Cal Fire added.

Crews fighting the Hughes Fire and two other massive Los Angeles blazes - Palisades and Eaton - were expected to be tested by strong Santa Ana winds of up to 50 miles (80 km) per hour with gusts reaching 65 miles (105 km) per hour and humidity levels dropping below 10% throughout the day and into Friday, forecasters said, Reuters reported.

"Dangerous fire weather conditions will persist through Friday as fuels remain extremely dry and ready to burn, with Thursday the period of greatest concern," the National Weather Service said in an advisory. "Any fire that starts can grow fast and out of control."

About 31,000 people were evacuated on Wednesday as the fire sent huge flames and plumes of smoke over a hilly terrain in the Castaic Lake area near Santa Clarita.

The Eaton and Palisades fires, which leveled entire neighborhoods on the eastern and western flanks of Los Angeles, have killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures over the past two weeks.

Helicopters battling the Hughes Fire scooped water out of a lake to drop on the fire while airplanes dropped fire retardant on the hills, video on KTLA television showed. Flames spread to the water's edge.

Eyewitness video showed the skies north of Los Angeles tinted orange on Wednesday afternoon as the Hughes Fire expanded rapidly.

A smaller blaze, called the Sepulveda Fire, was burning along the 405 freeway near the Getty Museum - home to numerous art treasures - in the San Fernando Valley on Thursday. The brush fire, which was 40 acres (16 hectares) and 0% contained, briefly caused part of the heavily traveled highway to be closed and some nearby residents to be evacuated overnight.

Southern California has gone without significant rain for nine months, contributing to hazardous conditions, but some rain was forecast from Saturday through Monday, possibly giving firefighters much-needed relief.

As of Thursday morning, the Eaton Fire that scorched about 14,000 acres (5,670 hectares) east of Los Angeles was 95% contained, while the larger Palisades Fire, which has consumed about 23,450 acres (9,490 hectares) on the west side of Los Angeles, stood at 70% contained, Cal Fire said.