(CNN)Chile's
Calbuco Volcano erupted again Thursday, marking the third time since
last week, the National Service of Geology and Mining said.
Gregorio Billikopf lives across Lake Llanquihue from the volcano has been photographing and videotaping the three eruptions and described Thursday's event as spectacular but not as severe as the two prior ones.
"There is still smoke on and off, but nothing so dramatic (as before)," said Billikopf, a retired university adviser on agricultural issues. "On a good day I can see about eight volcanoes.
"I understand that the rain that was announced for today would have been a disaster," he added.
He lives in a rainy part of Chile, which he described as like a Garden of Eden.
The explosion produced an extensive plume, but it was also described as smaller than the eruptions on April 22 and April 23, according to CNN Chile.
Deputy
Interior Minister Mahmud Aleuy said about 1,500 people were evacuated,
and security measures will continue as "contingency plans are
operating," CNN Chile reported Thursday.
For
the past several days, the geology agency has maintained there was a
possibility of a third eruption as part of steadily declining seismic
activity in the area.
A 20-kilometer
(12-mile) exclusion zone has been established around the crater, and
Chilean authorities have been keeping residents away from that zone.
Last week, military and police forces helped evacuate more than 4,400 residents, the Interior Ministry said then.
The seismic event is sure to add to the volume of ash already spewed since the first eruption.
Ash spread to Argentina in the second eruption, which occurred a day after the first.
Evacuations in the region involved not only people but also animals.
The volcanic debris has landed and piled up in some places to a depth of almost 2 feet, the Ministry of Interior and Public Safety said.
New advisories say airborne ash could reach an altitude of 12,000 feet.
There
was no immediate information on the strength of the third eruption, but
government officials have said the second, spectacular nighttime
eruption was stronger than the first one.
Last
week in Ensenada, houses, trees and even sheep were blanketed gray with
ash. People were removing salmon -- a staple of the local economy --
because of fears of contamination from ash and lava. Trucks were used to
evacuate farm animals and pets.
Residents briefly return before volcano erupts again 02:05
