![APTOPIX Indonesia Volcano Mount Slamet spews lava and gas during its eruption as seen from Pandansari village in Brebes, Central Java, Indonesia on Sept. 18, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/volcano-eruption-mount-slamet-java-indonesia.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Indonesia’s Mount Slamet began spewing lava again Thursday morning after a four-day silence, sending ash tumbling down on nearby villages.
Authorities banned activity within four kilometers of the peak and are prepared to evacuate some 24,000 residents from seven villages with roughly four miles of the crater, the Associated Press reports.
The eruption Thursday followed a series of loud bangs and sent molten material as much as 3,000 feet above the peak, according to the Jakarta Post. Forests on the northern side of the volcano were destroyed.
The alert status has stood at level 3 since August—a level 4 alert, the highest, would prompt the evacuation, according to the Post. The volcano, one of about 130 across the country, last erupted in 2009.
Look at These Incredible Close-Ups of a Volcanic Eruption in Iceland
![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-09.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lava erupts up to 100 meters in the air at Bardarbunga, Sept. 2, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-08.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Creeping lava and a mirage from the heat distorting the view of the lava fountains in the distance. The heat may be over 1000 degrees Celsius. Bardarbunga, Sept. 2, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-10.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A late afternoon wide angle view over a part of the 2 km long fissure erupting and the cloud of fumes and steam rising into the air.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-11.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lava fountain and black lava in the foreground. Bardarbunga / Holuhraun eruption. Iceland Central Highlands 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-07.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The lava-producing fissure eruption began on Aug. 31, but part of it was already extinct the next day. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-01.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Much of the eruption plume is water vapor. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-02.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A pulled-back view of the lava flow and massive plumb of water vapor. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-03.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Individual craters, made of lava spatter and scoria around each vent, line the active fissure. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-04.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A close-up view of the lava flow and massive plumb of water vapor. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-05.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Heavy activity in the northern half of the fissure sent a white plumb some 15,000 feet into the sky and pushed lava across the cold sand below. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-06.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
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