ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Alaska's 10,200-foot Mount Redoubt Volcano, located about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, could erupt at any time, geologists say.
Tina Neal of the U.S. Geological Survey's Alaska Volcano Observatory warns an eruption would blanket the state's most populous area with volcanic ash, USA Today reported Friday.
For several weeks Mount Redoubt has been trembling and spewing ash as high as 40,000 feet into the air.
"This is rock fragments, mineral fragments and glass," Dave Schneider, observatory volcanologist, told USA Today. "It has the density of rock, not fluffy ash like when you burn wood."
Area residents have been preparing for the worst, purchasing dust masks, safety goggles and emergency radios.
The last time Mount Redoubt erupted was in 1989.
During that episode a Boeing 747 that flew through the plume lost power to all of its engines and dropped 30,000 feet before the pilots were able to land safely.
