Guatemala's Fuego volcano erupted on Monday, sending rivers of lava and towering plumes of ash skyward and prompting the evacuation of over a thousand people from communities on its slopes. Authorities declared an orange alert — the second-highest emergency level — before conditions intensified overnight, with emergency services subsequently raising warnings to the highest tier, a red alert, covering the Sacatepéquez, Chimaltenango, and Escuintla regions, home to a combined population of 1.6 million people.

Fuego, a 3,763-metre stratovolcano situated less than 100 kilometres southwest of Guatemala City and just 16 kilometres west of the colonial city of Antigua, had been erupting continuously for 23 hours by Tuesday morning, though the intensity was beginning to ease. Ash rose six kilometres into a reddened sky while hot debris flows threatened communities on the western and southern flanks of the mountain. Firefighters transported hundreds of residents from the villages of El Porvenir and Las Lajitas to temporary shelters in the municipality of San Juan Alotenango, while Escuintla, to the south, sheltered additional families including children. In total, authorities sheltered around 1,700 people who had fled nearby villages. Many others evacuated spontaneously out of fear.