By night, however, the eruption was declared over, and evacuees were allowed to begin returning to their homes.
Residents with traumatic memories of a deadly eruption in 2018 sought refuge early Monday after the Fuego volcano exploded spectacularly 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital Guatemala City.
"We heard the rumblings and then a strong eruption," Manuel Cobox, 46, told AFP after leaving his home with his wife and three daughters.
Some 125 families, around 900 people, were moved to safety from the community of El Porvenir, said Juan Laureano, a spokesman for Guatemala's disaster coordination agency, Conred.
Residents of another community in Las Lajitas were also evacuated, the official added.
Buses brought evacuees carrying belongings to a town hall turned into a temporary shelter, while others stayed with friends or relatives.
Around 30,000 people were potentially "at risk" and should evacuate themselves if necessary, Conred head Claudinne Ogaldes told a news conference.
By late Monday, though, the eruptive episode was declared "ended" and the volcano's parameters returned to "normal" levels following the dramatic increase of activity from Sunday, the state-run Volcanology Institute said in a bulletin.
Guatemala lies on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activity.
In June 2018, 215 people were killed and a similar number left missing when Fuego volcano erupted, sending rivers of lava pouring down its sides and devastating the village of San Miguel Los Lotes.
On that occasion, residents "did not believe the magnitude and a tragedy struck," said Cobox, who works on a pig farm.
Amanda Santos, a 58-year-old housekeeper, said that memories of that previous eruption came flooding back when she heard the firefighters' sirens.
"That's why we're afraid. Many people died," she added.
Another eruption in 2023 from the 3,763-meter (12,346-foot) Fuego caused the evacuation of around 1,200 people.
An alert was issued by the authorities on Sunday in order to coordinate the response and preventive measures, Conred said.
The government suspended local school activities, although classes were now set to resume Tuesday.
Officials also temporarily closed a road through the village that links the south of the country to the colonial city of Antigua, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Guatemala's most popular tourist destination.
Authorities had been monitoring pyroclastic flows -- fast-moving currents of hot ash, gas and rock fragments that descend the slopes of a volcano, Conred spokesman Laureano said.
The Volcanology Institute recommended that air traffic take precautions due to a spreading ash cloud.
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