Guatemalan authorities evacuated 1054 people and closed a road as Central America’s most active volcano erupted on Thursday, spewing thick clouds of ash over farms and towns not far from the capital.

Civil protection official Oscar Cossio said people were evacuated from five communities near the volcano and the number is likely to rise.  The ash column ejected by ‘Fuego’ (Spanish for ‘fire’) reached more than 6,000 metres above sea level.