Spectators watch plumes of smoke from volcanic activity between Hagafell and Stóri-Skógfell, Iceland, Saturday, March 16, 2024. Marco di Marco, Associated Press
Sarah Gambles
By Sarah Gambles
Sarah Gambles is Deseret News' audience and express editor, and she covers breaking news, pop culture and Taylor Swift news.

A volcano continues to erupt in southwestern Iceland, prompting evacuations of the nearby town of Grindavik. It’s the fourth time it has gone off in four months.

The eruption “opened a fissure in the earth about 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) long between Stóra-Skógfell and Hagafell mountains on the Reykjanes Peninsula,” The Associated Press reported.

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The lava flow that crossed Grindavikurvegur, the road to Grindavik in Iceland, Sunday, March 17, 2024, a day after the volcanic eruption. A volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the country’s southwest erupted late Saturday for the fourth time in three months. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press
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The lava flow that moved south, in Iceland, Sunday, March 17, 2024, a day after the volcanic eruption. A volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the country’s southwest erupted late Saturday for the fourth time in three months. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press
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The active vents spew lava in Iceland, Monday, March 18, 2024, with Grindavik seen in the background, after the volcanic eruption. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press
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The active vents spew lava in Iceland, Monday night, March 18, 2024, after the volcanic eruption. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press
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Plumes of smoke rise from volcanic activity between Hagafell and Stóri-Skógfell, Iceland, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press
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This image from video provided by Iceland Civil Defense shows lava erupting from a volcano between Hagafell and Stóri-Skógfell, Iceland, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. | Iceland Civil Defense via Associated Press
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The active vents on the eruptive fissure in Iceland, Sunday, March 17, 2024, a day after the volcanic eruption. A volcanic system on the Reykjanes Peninsula in the country’s southwest erupted late Saturday for the fourth time in three months. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press
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This image provided by Iceland Civil Defense shows lava erupting from a volcano between Hagafell and Stóri-Skógfell, Iceland, on Saturday, March 16, 2024. | Iceland Civil Defense via Associated Press
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The active vents spew lava in Iceland, Monday night, March 18, 2024, after the volcanic eruption. | Marco di Marco, Associated Press

Hundreds of residents and tourists were also evacuated from the popular Blue Lagoon geothermal spa due to the eruption. It hasn’t affected flights at nearby Keflavik Airport as of yet, per The New York Times.

What we know about the Iceland volcano

The volcano system first started spewing red-hot lava in December. Tectonic plates spreading away from each other underneath the island nation are responsible for the volcanic activity.

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Will it erupt again? The last time there was volcanic activity in this region of Iceland was 1200. The volcanic system has been brewing below the surface all that time, and “experts say it could be active for decades or centuries to come,” according to The Washington Post.

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