The Poás Volcano in Alajuela, Costa Rica had gone through several days of relative calm, with just the now common vapor and gas emissions; however, today starting at 3:17p.m. local time it registered an eruption that continued through almost 6 p.m.

The eruption had presence of ash and the column elevated around 500 meters above the crater, (3,008 meters or 9,866.24 ft above sea level) according to the report by the National Seismology Network and Dr. Mauricio Mora.

This new eruption comes at a time where the National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) has been evaluating the possibility of reactivating tourism to the area through controlled visitations to the National Park following certain security protocols.

The closure of the Poás Volcano National Park since April of this year has had a very negative impact in the local commerce and of course in the budget of SINAC since this park was one of the most visited by national and foreign tourists. In 2016 this park received over 400 thousand tourists making it the second most visited park after Manuel Antonio.

SINAC had expected to receive close to US $3 million on income from this National Park for 2017 and at the time of the closure it had gathered a little over US$1 million. This brings a lot of concerns to the organization since it depends on the funds it collects, which are used for the maintenance of all national parks in the country.

A team of experts continues monitoring the volcano and evaluating the situation; for the time being, and as long as sporadic eruptions continue, the park will remain closed.