Volcanic ash snarls air traffic in Alaska

The eruption of a 10,200-foot Alaskan volcano spewed ash up to 60,000 feet in the air, snarling air travel Monday and stranding small groups of people in remote, sparsely populated parts of the vast state.

The eruption of Mt. Redoubt, about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, had a limited effect on the state's largest city and its surrounding suburbs. Winds blew the lower layer of ash north of the capital, into the Susitna Valley, where a mild coating of debris was reported in some rural areas.The volcano erupted five times overnight, starting at 10:38 p.m. Sunday Alaska Daylight Time. The last reported eruption was at 4:31 a.m. Monday. Geologists said that eruptions could continue for weeks or months and that the largest impact would likely be on air travel.

Mt. Redoubt has erupted several times before, most notably for five months in late 1989 through 1990, when its ash stopped the engines of a KLM jet in mid-flight. The plane dropped two miles before its crew could reactivate the engines.

Aware of this history, Alaska Airlines canceled 19 flights Monday morning and continued to cancel flights north of Anchorage later in the day. Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage sheltered 60 planes and functioned with a skeleton crew.