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View of an eruption at the Tungurahua volcano, from the city of Banos, early on December 17, 2012. Ecuador issued an orange alert -- the second-highest warning level -- for towns near the Tungurahua volcano on the eve, as its level of activity rose, civil defense officials said. AFP PHOTO / Agencia API-/AFP/Getty Images

View of an eruption at the Tungurahua volcano, from the city of Banos, early on December 17, 2012. Ecuador issued an orange alert -- the second-highest warning level -- for towns near the Tungurahua volcano on the eve, as its level of activity rose, civil defense officials said. AFP PHOTO / Agencia API-/AFP/Getty Images

View of the Tungurahua volcano from Riobamba, on December 17, 2012. Ecuador issued an orange alert -- the second-highest warning level -- for towns near the Tungurahua volcano on the eve, as its level of activity rose, civil defense officials said. AFP PHOTO / Agencia API-/AFP/Getty Images

A woman sweeps up volcanic ash spewed from the nearby Tungurahua volcano in, Banos, Ecuador, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. The country's National Geophysics Institute says that a constant plume of gas and ash is rising about half a mile (1 kilometer) above the crater, with ash falling on nearby communities. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Church steeples are silhouetted against the active Tungurahua volcano, seen from Huambalo, Ecuador, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. The country's National Geophysics Institute says that a constant plume of gas and ash is rising about half a mile (1 kilometer) above the crater, with ash falling on nearby communities. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

he Tungurahua volcano emits an an ash-filled plume as seen from Huambalo, Ecuador, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. The country's National Geophysics Institute says that a constant plume of gas and ash is rising about half a mile (1 kilometer) above the crater, with ash falling on nearby communities. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, south of Quito, December 16, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campana

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano spews large clouds of gas and ash near Banos, south of Quito, December 16, 2012. REUTERS/Carlos Campana

An ash-filled plume rises from the Tungurahua volcano as seen from Huambalo, Ecuador, Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. The country's National Geophysics Institute says that a constant plume of gas and ash is rising about half a mile (1 kilometer) above the crater, with ash falling on nearby communities. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)