Galeras has large eruption – 12 km ash plume?

UPDATE 1/3/09 Midnight: I’m bumping this up from the comments, but INGEOMINAS posted some stunning webcam video of the eruption as it happened. Wow is all I say. {Hat tip to Doug C. for the video}

A quick note tonight: Eruptions reader Chance Metz alerted me to an impressive eruption of Galeras in Colombia tonight. The VAAC warning issued for the eruption suggests a 40,000 foot / 12 km ash plume and the reports seem to back it up, with the Red Cross reporting “very high ash cloud”. No injuries/fatalities have been reported, but Galeras is very close to the city of Pasto. 8,000 people living close to the volcano have been urged to evacuate.