Powerful eruptions from Guatemala’s most notorious volcano some 40 kilometers outside of Guatemala City have prompted more than 30-thousand people to flee the area.

Guatemalan authorities say the Volcano of Fire or "Volcan de Fuego" spewed 500 meters of lava on Thursday and covered villages in dense clouds of ash in what was one of its stronger eruptions in recent years. Authorities noted this is the sixth eruption in 2012 alone.

The volcano stands three-thousand-763 meters above sea level and is known as the most active volcano in Latin America.