Bad to worse

A fissure runs in front of a house covered with volcanic ash Wednesday on Spain’s island of La Palma. The fissure spouted a fresh gusher of lava that left a gaping hole in front of the house and threatened to engulf a parish church that has so far survived an eruption that has been going strong for 10 weeks.

LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Canary Islands — A fresh river of lava from the volcano on Spain’s La Palma island threatened Wednesday to engulf a parish church that has so far survived the eruption that shows no signs of relenting after 10 weeks.

The nearest lava flow to the Los Llanos de Aridane church has slowed down since it started over the weekend but it is still only 0.6 miles away.

Molten rock from the Sept. 19 eruption on La Palma, part of Spain’s Canary Islands archipelago, has consumed over 1,500 buildings and covered over 2,800 acres including banana farms, the island’s main source of revenue along with tourism.

“The lava is flowing mostly on top of previous flows that have hardened,” Noelia Garcia, the mayor of Los Llanos de Aridane, told Canary Islands Television. “But we won’t dare make a prediction [about its course].”

The volcano is going strong and seismic activity in the area has increased in recent days. Spain’s National Geographic Institute registered 341 earthquakes over the past 24 hours.

Thousands of residents have been displaced by the eruption, which has not claimed any lives on the westernmost member of the archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa.