GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) 鈥� A volcano in southwestern Iceland that has roared back to life after eight centuries of silence has erupted for the seventh time since December, sending molten lava flowing towards the Blue Lagoon spa, a major tourist attraction.
The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula started with little warning at 11:14 p.m. (2314 GMT) Wednesday and created a fissure around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long. The activity is estimated to be considerably smaller than the previous eruption in August, according to Iceland鈥檚 meteorological office that monitors seismic activity.
Most of the previous eruptions have subsided within days.
鈥淚n the big picture, this is a bit smaller than the last eruption, and the eruption that occurred in May,鈥� Magn煤s Tumi Gu冒mundsson, a professor of geophysics who flew over the scene with the Civil Protection agency to monitor the event, told national broadcaster RUV.
While the eruption poses no threat to air travel, authorities warned of gas emissions across parts of the peninsula, including the nearby town of Grindav铆k, which was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years.
Around 50 houses were evacuated after the Civil Protection agency issued the alert, along with guests at the By Thursday afternoon lava had spread across parking lot of the geothermal spa, one of Iceland's biggest tourist attractions, consuming a service building.
Lava also reached the pipeline that supplies the peninsula with hot water for heating, the meteorological office said, though the pipes were built to withstand lava flow.
The , which is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, and had a population before the eruptions of 3,800, have damaged infrastructure and property, forcing many residents to relocate to guarantee their safety.
鈥淕rindav铆k is not in danger as it looks and it is unlikely that this crack will get any longer, although nothing can be ruled out,鈥� Magn煤s Tumi said.
Iceland, which sits above a , averages one eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months.
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Keyton reported from Berlin.
Marco Di Marco And David Keyton, The Associated Press
