Guatemala evacuates residents as Fuego volcano intensifies

Guatemalan authorities ordered the preventive evacuation of two communities near Fuego late Monday after the volcano entered a more intense eruptive phase. The government raised the alert to orange, the second-highest danger level, as officials moved to keep residents out of the path of a sudden escalation.

About 400 people were evacuated from communities near the volcano and taken to temporary shelters in Alotenango and Escuintla city. Schools close to Fuego were also closed because of ash fall and the risk of further volcanic activity, a sign that the emergency response extended well beyond the immediate evacuation zones.

The scale of the shelter response grew quickly. By the time authorities were housing evacuees, temporary sites were accommodating about 1,700 people who fled nearby villages, underscoring how fast the situation around the volcano could change once activity intensified. The response put civil protection agencies, local officials, transportation routes, and school systems into emergency mode at the same time.

Fuego’s history explains why officials acted early. One of Central America’s most active volcanoes, it has erupted repeatedly in recent years and forced mass evacuations before. A deadly 2018 eruption killed 25 people and injured hundreds, a precedent that still shapes how Guatemala handles warning signs around the mountain. In 2025, another eruption forced more than 700 evacuations, reinforcing the need to move first and assess later when activity rises.

By August 6, authorities said the eruption had ended after 50 hours of activity, but they warned residents to remain cautious because Fuego could erupt again. That caution reflects the same lesson repeated in earlier crises: when a volcano as active as Fuego shows stronger signs of unrest, the safest response is often to evacuate before ash, mud, or pyroclastic flow turns warning time into too little time.