New Volcano Eruption Cancels Alaska Flights

Mt. Spurr erupted overnight for the third time since June, spewing ash 50,000 feet into the sky and forcing the cancellation Thursday of virtually all flights into or out of Anchorage.

Some of the ash was expected to fall on Anchorage, but most was likely to drop on more sparsely populated areas to the north and northeast, said John Paskievitch, a seismologist at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

The eruption appeared to be diminishing about 4 1/2 hours after it began, officials said.