Last week’s eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile was its first in more than four decades. Officials issued a red alert for a nearby city, Puerto Montt, and evacuated more than 1,500 people in a six-mile radius of the volcano—some 600 miles south of Santiago—as ash began to spew into the air.
Lightning illuminates a cloud of ash as lava spews from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile on April 23, 2015.Martin Bernetti—AFP/Getty ImagesThe sun illuminates ash from the Calbuco volcano on April 22, 2015.Alex Vidal Brecas—EPAAn ash-covered boat sits in the backyard of a home just north of the Calbuco volcano on April 23, 2015.Ivan Alvarado—ReutersAsh rises from the Calbuco volcano, seen from Puerto Varas, just miles north of the eruption, April 22, 2015.Carlos Gutierrez—ReutersA child's bicycle sits covered in ash on the outskirts of Calbuco volcano on April 22, 2015.Felipe Trueba—EPAChildren from Puerto Varas look on as ash rises from the Calbuco volcano on April 22, 2015.Carlos Gutierrez—ReutersA man sweeps volcanic ash from the rooftop of his home in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 24, 2015.Luis Hidalgo—APThe entrance of a house is covered in a thick layer of ash from the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile, on April 23, 2015.Luis Hidalgo—APLava and lightning illuminate a cloud of ash during an eruption of the Calbuco volcano on April 23, 2015.Francisco Negroni—AFP/Getty Images