The disturbing sound and ash explosions of the volcano of the Alaska Peninsula are worrying locals

Residents of a small Aboriginal community in Alaska woke up Wednesday with a bit of excitement before Thanksgiving, with the nearby volcano spewing a dark and tumultuous cloud into the air .

Soot emissions from Mount Veniaminof were visible from the village of Perryville (about 25 miles to the south) in the Aleut, local people said. But the wind repelled the panache of the community of 101 people.

"It's a big, ugly, black cloud," said Victoria Tague, a life-long citizen who talked about the ashes, who then slipped behind a cloud cover.

Jennifer Kalmakoff said the village council had informed residents of Perryville that the volcano had "blown" at 2 am Wednesday. She reported falling ash seen miles away, heading southeast towards Chignik.

Residents have heard "very loud, disturbing" rumble in recent days of the volcano that began a low-level eruption in September, wrote Kalmakoff in an email on Wednesday. They took precautions like filling water bottles and using face masks.

"Today, it's the worst we've seen," she wrote.

Scientists at the Alaska Volcano Observatory said that the emissions in the aftermath of Veniaminof had generated an ash plume of up to 15,000 feet. The cloud drifted more than 150 miles southeast.

Ash emissions have caused an alert to aviation. According to observatory geophysicist Dave Schneider, the level of emissions would mainly affect smaller aircraft. Ashes above 20,000 feet could threaten jet aircraft.

Veniaminof is located 480 km southwest of Anchorage on the Alaska Peninsula. He became active again at the beginning of September.

About a month ago, Perryville was covered with drifting ash. When people saw the distant ash cloud of the volcano on Wednesday, they were "a little worried," said Gerald Kosbruk, president of the tribal government of the community.

"It's the most ashy I've seen coming out," he said.

People also heard noises coming from the volcano during the night, he said.

Kosbruk and others called VHF radio and recommended residents to bring themselves a face mask and fill up with water in case the wind changed direction.

Veniaminof, however, did not stop people from getting ready for the holidays. Around noon, people started heading to the village school, which was holding a community potluck for Thanksgiving, Kosbruk said.

The volcano erupted for several months in 2013. Other recent eruptions took place in 2005 and between 1993 and 1995.

The people of Perryville usually live near a volcano. The village itself was founded in 1912 as a refuge for the Alutiiq displaced by the eruption of another volcano.

DNA journalist Zaz Hollander contributed to this article.