The Colima Volcano erupted again on Saturday, sending ash and cinders high into the Mexican sky.

The intensity of the ash cloud forced the closure of Colima’s airport and at least half a dozen small communities around the base of the mountain had to be evacuated.

“The communities in this 12km radius are very small and don’t exceed 800 inhabitants. They have all been evacuated,” civil protection co-ordinator Luis Felipe Puente the BBC.

The mountain’s first eruption took place on Thursday and escalated through the weekend.  Local officials said the activity of the volcano was “atypical” and something not seen since the last strong eruption in 1913.

The volcano is known by the locals as the “Volcano of Fire”.

The Mexico Interior Department reported that 2 inches of ash had fallen on the village of Yerbabuena.   Rain in the region is making conditions worse as the ash thickens from the moisture.