Ecuador declares state of emergency as volcano spews ash near capital city

A view of Cotopaxi volcano spewing ashes as seen from Latacunga, Ecuador, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. The Cotopaxi volcano near Ecuador's capital has spewed ash over a wide area in pre-dawn blasts. The volcano is considered one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes due to a glacial cover that makes it prone to mud flows and its proximity to a heavily populated area, but government scientists say that the snow-capped volcano doesn't seem to be on the verge of a major eruption. Its last major eruption was in 1877. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Santa Rita residents sit in their makeshift shelter alongside a road after evacuating their homes, fearing a volcanic landslide from the nearby Cotopaxi volcano, which has blanketed nearby villages in ash, in El Chasqui, Ecuador, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Four blasts inside the volcano sent ash shooting more than two miles in the sky Friday, coating highways, homes and cars just south of Ecuador's capital with a fine gray powder. Cotopaxi is considered one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes due to a glacial cover that makes it prone to fast-moving volcanic rock and mud flows, or lahares, and its proximity to a heavily populated area. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

A village leader tries to quell fears of Santa Rita residents who set up camp alongside a road after a self-imposed evacuation from their homes, fearing a volcanic landslide from the nearby Cotopaxi volcano, pictured in background, in El Chasqui, Ecuador, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2015. Four blasts inside the volcano sent ash shooting into the sky Friday, coating highways, homes and cars just south of Ecuador's capital with a fine gray powder. Cotopaxi is considered one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes due to a glacial cover that makes it prone to fast-moving volcanic rock and mud flows, or lahares, and its proximity to a heavily populated area. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)