A red alert has been issued for an Alaskan volcano located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Pavlof Volcano, which has been active for years in releasing smoke, erupted with high intensity sending a plume of ash and smoke over 24,000 feet into the sky.  The eruption was so significantly that the Alaska Volcano Observatory issued their first red alert warning since 2009.

The last alert was for Alaska’s Mount Redoubt when an eruption sent a 2009 plume over 50,000 feet into the skies.  Scientists believe that the volcano could be active long after the red alert will end.

“This means it can erupt for weeks or even months,” observatory research geologist Michelle Coombs said of the warning. “I don’t think we will be at red for that long, but we are expecting it to go for a while based on its past.”

Scientists say that commercial air traffic has yet to be impacted by the eruption but say that changing weather patterns could cause a serious disruption to flights.