The Chaiten volcano in southern Chile spewed a column of smoke 4 miles (6 kilometers) into the air and rained ash on a nearby village, in what geologists characterized Thursday as a brief spike in activity
Chile's national Geology and Mineral Service reported that the volcano rumbled to life Wednesday evening with a series of medium-strength earthquakes, but returned to a state of low-level activity by the next morning.
Chaiten has been active with varying intensity since a May 2 eruption that forced the evacuation of thousands of people around a town of the same name. Residents have yet to return.
