Iceland volcano erupts spewing lava fountains 330 feet into sky

A volcano in southwest Iceland has erupted after weeks of tremors and doubt, with thrill-seekers flooding to get a glimpse of the 330-foot-high lava fountains.

When the rumbles first began in October, fears immediately went sky-high that the Fagradalsfjall volcano could blow.

The eruption, just 2.5 miles northeast of the evacuated town of Grindavik, that finally flared Monday evening was larger than expected by experts.

But lava is flowing even closer to Grindavik – about 1.6 miles – than what local officials had hoped, with a fissure being not far from the Svartsengi Power Plant.

Though the flow of lava is unpredictable and the fissure wide, the Icelandic Met Office says, the situation isn’t as dire as some feared.

Suðurnes police, which covers the Reykjanes Peninsula, has pleaded for people not to visit the fissure.

Travel advice from the British Foreign Office remains unchanged and still lists the same information as it did in November.

‘While there is no current eruption, it is increasingly possible that one could occur,’ the department says.