In Iceland: a fiery show of lava and smoke

Pall Viggosson, a tour guide in Iceland, drove a van with nine British tourists in search of the Northern Lights on Monday evening. But instead of the greenish glow of the Northern Lights, he saw red flames and smoke from a volcanic eruption that Iceland had been eagerly awaiting.

The area, the Reykjanes Peninsula, has been experiencing strong seismic activity since October, a harbinger of an impending eruption. The earthquakes – in November there were as many as 1,400 in one 24-hour period – prompted the evacuation of the town of Grindavik and the temporary closure of the Blue Lagoon, a tourist attraction. With these shaky warnings, Icelanders prepared for the eruption that would occur on Monday evening.

“I quickly realized this was no ordinary light pollution,” Mr Viggosson said. He stopped on the highway so the tourists could take pictures.

Soon the highway connecting the capital to Keflavik International Airport became busy, as other curious onlookers drove from Reykjavik and nearby cities to catch a glimpse of the spectacle for themselves: reddish and orange skies, billowing smoke and lava fountains that more reach more than 300 meters. feet in the air.

“Against the mountains the flames were enormous and the length of the fissure kept increasing,” Mr Viggosson said.

Among the onlookers was Bjorn Steinbekk, the head of a marketing and consulting firm, who left his home in Reykjavik as soon as he heard about the eruption on Monday evening. Using a drone, he captured images of the lava shooting into the air. Even for someone who has chased many blowouts over the past two years, “last night was a whole new chapter compared to anything we’ve seen before,” Mr. Steinbekk said. “It was much more violent for two or three hours, with bigger blows and a lot of lava coming out.”

Iceland is prone to volcanic activity. It is spread over two tectonic plates, separated by an undersea mountain range from which molten hot rocks, or magma, flow. But the Reykjanes volcanic system in southwestern Iceland had been dormant for 800 years. However, in recent years, magma began to collect beneath the surface.

José Alvarado, a pilot with the low-cost Icelandic airline Play, got a view of the eruption from the cockpit of his plane. He described what he saw as a large glow.

“The amount of light you got through the clouds was quite astonishing – it was completely red,” said Mr Alvarado, who flew to Reykjavik from Lisbon. When he heard from air traffic control that the eruption would not produce ash clouds and therefore posed no risk, he gave the passengers an update and suggested they look from the right side of the plane to see it.

At 2 a.m. Tuesday, the eruption began to subside. Later on Tuesday, the lava spewed at a much lower intensity, Mr. Steinbekk said, speaking from close to the eruption as he prepared to launch his drone to get more footage.

Kjartan Adolfsson, an accountant who lives in Grindavik, a town of more than 3,500 residents, was evacuated last month along with other residents after increased seismic activity raised concerns that an eruption was imminent. Monday’s eruption occurred “uncomfortably close to the city,” he said, although he was relieved to see lava flowing out of Grindavik.

Mr Adolfsson, 59, said he had been preparing for the worst for weeks. He said he had to evacuate for the first time due to an eruption 50 years ago. His parents woke him up in the middle of the night in their home on Heimaey Island, Iceland’s largest island settlement. They quickly packed up and sailed away from the city, only to find out later that their home had been destroyed by lava.

Local authorities have not yet indicated when Grindavik will be safe enough for residents to return. Nearly everyone had been evacuated at the time of the eruption.

Stefan Kristjansson, owner of several fishing boats, was relaxing in his outdoor hot tub in Grindavik on Monday evening when he saw the horizon light up. He quickly dressed, left some food for his sheep and drove to Reykjavik. “I’d like to be back before Christmas,” he said.