JAKARTA ~ A volcano in Sulawesi spewed smoke into the sky and spat heat clouds down its slopes earlier this week, but no evacuation of people in its surrounds was needed, an official said.

A column of smoke soared 1,500 meters above Mount Soputan and clouds of gas shot down its western slope on Tuesday, said Sandi, an official manning the vulcanology observation post on the volcano’s slopes.

“It actually began to spew smoke yesterday (Monday) but the first heat clouds went 500 meters down the western slope only early this morning,” Sandi said.

He said activity at the 1,783-metre volcano in Minahasa district of North Sulawesi province was not considered dangerous, as no volcanic earthquakes were registered and the mountain was sparsely populated.

“The highest village on the slope, Winorangenean, is still kilometers and several hills away” from the peak, Sandi said, adding that the office had not issued any warning to evacuate.

The volcano, about 50 kilometers south of North Sulawesi’s capital Manado, is one of the most active on the island and has erupted annually since 2003. An eruption in 1995 killed one person.