Hi Michael, I'm sorry you missed the alert level update on Spurr last week! I'd also recommend reading the ADN article about the alert level change, as it includes some interview quotes that weren't included in the Discover article: https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2024/10/16/scientists-raise-alert-... The good news is that there are lots of ways to stay updated on our volcanoes. The first thing I'd recommend is to sign up for the Volcano Notification System through USGS: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vns2/subscribe. When signing up, you can specify what observatories/volcanoes you want to receive updates about, and which updates you want to receive, so you can customize how often you're hearing from us. If you're concerned about operational impacts to your farm, I'd recommend choosing the daily update from AVO and VAN/VONA alerts so you'll be notified right away if something changes. You can also follow us on social media via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X. And we do a 2 minute Alaska Public Media radio show every week. Different stations in Alaska play it at different times, but we record the show every Friday by 3 pm and also post it on our website here: https://avo.alaska.edu/news/. If you like getting hands-on, you can visit https://avo.alaska.edu/volcano/spurr and see the webcams, GPS, and earthquake data for yourself (of course, AVO monitors these data streams very closely). Given what's happened before Spurr's past eruptions, we expect to see a lot more signs of unrest prior to any possible future eruption. As the article you read noted, this current activity does bear some resemblance to the start of the runup to the 1992 eruption (a lot more dramatic things happened closer to it, like the lake that existed in Crater Peak at that time boiling dry). But, this also looks a lot like 2004-2006, where Spurr was at YELLOW for multiple years and no eruption ultimately occurred. I hope that helps! Abbey Nastan AVO Staff ---------------------------------------------------- My family has lived for the past 31 years (fulltime) approximately 42 miles west of Mt. Spur. I observe the upper 2000 feet of the mountain out my front windows daily. On Oct 23rd I came across an article in my news feed from Planet Earth written by Erik Kelmetti. He was reporting Mt. Spurr's status was elevated to yellow. In the article it stated the best defense in a potential eruption is keeping the public informed. Yesterday (Oct 23, 2024) was the first I heard of the upgraded status of Mt. Spurr. I am writing to find out if and how you are keeping the local population, especially those that live in the shadow of the volcano informed? This news took me completely by surprise. Not only does my family live here full time we also run our commercial farm here. An eruption and resulting ash fallout has the potential to cripple our operations and isolate us given our only access in summer months is small plane. I'm shocked this is the first I've heard of the elevated status.