Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spewing ash and gas closes schools

By MARÍA VERZA
Associated Press

SANTIAGO XALITZINTLA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano is spewing gas, smoke and ash. That has led education authorities to suspend in-person classes Monday in parts of three states, a day after the government raised the warning level on the volcano’s activity. The nearly 18,000-foot (more than 5,400-meter) mountain is just 45 miles (about 70 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City and known affectionately as “El Popo.”  Activity there has increased over the past week. Evacuations have not been ordered, but authorities are preparing for that scenario and telling people to stay out of 7.5-mile (12-kilometer) radius around the peak. On Monday, an ash plume stretched out over the Bay of Campeche, according to a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report.