Lava shoots up from volcano on La Palma in Spanish Canary Islands

LA PALMA, Spain - A volcano erupted on the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma on Sunday, sending fountains of lava and a plume of smoke and ash into the air from the Cumbre Vieja national park in the south of the island.

Authorities had already begun evacuating the infirm and some farm animals from the surrounding villages before the eruption, which took place on a wooded slope in the Cabeza de Vaca area at 3:15 p.m. (1415 GMT), according to the islands' government.

Immediately after the eruption, the municipality urged residents in a statement to "exercise extreme caution", and stay away from the area and off the roads.