Mexican children ride a horse in front of the 14,200-foot Volcano of Fire (rear, spewing smoke), in Tonila February 19. The Volcano, located on the border between Jalisco and Colima states, about 300 miles (480 km) nortwest of Mexico City, has not experienced a strong eruption since 1913, but last November it surprised scientists by unexpectedly spewing out lava. The zone around the crater is now in phase two of a three-phase alert. People are forbidden to come within 6.5 miles (10.5 km) of it, and authorities do not rule out evacuations of up to 7,000 residents living within 8.7 miles (14 km) of the volcano.

DA/HB