Volcán de Fuego is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala, on the borders of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez departments. It sits about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of Antigua, one of Guatemala's most famous cities and a tourist destination. It has erupted frequently since the Spanish conquest, most recently in June 2018. Fuego is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Small gas and ash eruptions occur every 15 to 20 minutes, but larger eruptions are rare. Andesite and basalt lava types dominate, and recent eruptions have tended to be more mafic than older ones. The volcano is joined with Acatenango and collectively the complex is known as La Horqueta.
Beginning in 2002, the Volcán de Fuego entered a new active period, with more or less continuous activity, interspersed with monthly eruptive episodes. These episodes would typically send ash falling on communities within 20km of the volcano, and lava flows about 1-2km from the summit, and the occasional pyroclastic density current. On 3 June 2018, the volcano suddenly produced its most powerful eruption since 1974. Large pyroclastic density currents were produced that over-topped the barranca boundaries they had previously been confined to and unexpectedly hit El Rodeo, Las Lajas, San Miguel Los Lotes, and La Reunión villages in Escuintla, which buried the towns and killed many of the surprised residents. Later, 18 bodies were found in the village of San Miguel Los Lotes. Members of the Shriners International fraternity met six of over fifty burned children, ages 1-16 , that were sent from Guatemala to the Shriners Hospital in Galveston, Texas and accompanied by 5 guardians for receiving the appropriate and medical treatment.
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