* Around 11,000 people evacuated
* No more evacuees expected
* Volcano set to return to normal
(adds details on eruptions dying)
GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Guatemala's Fuego
volcano erupted on Thursday, spewing ash 2 miles (3 kilometers)
into the sky and forcing the evacuation of thousands of people,
but it was seen stabilizing by Friday, allowing evacuees to
return home, emergency services said.
The volcano, 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the capital
Guatemala City, erupted in the early afternoon, belching a cloud
of ash above the crater, Guatemala's emergency agency CONRED
said in a statement.
But by Thursday evening, the eruptions had died down
considerably and were soon expected to return to normal levels,
said Sergio Cabanas, CONRED's director of emergency response.
Roughly 11,000 people had been evacuated, but no more
evacuations would be necessary, Cabanas added.
"It is hoped that by tomorrow the volcano will return to
normal activity and that families will be able to return home,"
he said.
Two lava flows, about 600 yards (meter) long, had headed
down the sides of the volcano, accompanied by pyroclastic flows
of hot rock and ash, CONRED said.
Speaking at a news conference during a state visit to Costa
Rica, Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina said the eruption
could affect people as far away as Guatemala City.
"It is a shame, but this is a fact of life in our country,
so we will do the best we can to avoid people being harmed," he
said.
The airport remains open but officials shut down the air
approach route between Guatemala City's La Aurora Airport and
Tapachula International Airport in Chiapas, Mexico.
"For the moment, we are urging caution because of the
changing winds near the volcano, mainly from the east and
southeast," civil aviation spokeswoman Oddra Lacs said.
Witnesses said the explosion darkened skies and prompted the
closure of schools and universities.
"It is almost impossible to see the volcano because lots of
ash is falling," said Ricardo Castillo, a 23-year-old Guatemalan
English teacher at the Del Valle University in Santa Lucia,
about 16 miles (25 km) from the base of the volcano.
The Fuego volcano last erupted in May. A 2010 eruption at
Pacaya, one of Guatemala's four active volcanoes, covered
Guatemala City with a layer of ash, closed the airport and
forced the evacuation of hundreds of families.
(Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Simon Gardner and
Stacey Joyce)