With a series of thunderous explosions and a voracious avalanche of volcanic ash and rocks, Arenal Volcano, some 130 km. northwest of San José, produced one of its most dramatic eruptions in recent history Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of tourist areas and the tragically spectacular rescue of two badly burned U.S. tourists by their Costa Rican tour guide, who later died of his own third-degree burns.
Costa Rican tour guide Ignacio Protti, 28, of Horizontes Nature Tours, died around midnight Aug. 23-24 at San José’s San Juan de Dios Hospital, where he was rushed in critical condition after rescuing a U.S. tourist and her 8-year-old daughter from the face of the smoldering volcano.
U.S. tourist Cary Anne Ruffin, 49, remains hospitalized with second-degree burns in San José’s private Clínica Bíblica hospital, while her daughter, Raleigh Goldberg, 8, is in critical condition at the National Children’s Hospital, where she is being treated for third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body, according to Red Cross sources. The U.S. Embassy said U.S. privacy law prevents it from revealing the U.S. victims’ home towns.
The tourists and guide Protti had arrived at Arenal early Aug. 23 for a day tour of the volcano, whose frequent grumbles, nighttime "shows" of red-orange molten rock and lush forests make it a top tourist destination.
The three were observing the summit at 10 a.m. from a vantage point some two kilometers above Hotel Los Lagos, at the base of Arenal’s northeast slope, when a pyroclastic avalanche of hot gases, rocks and ash emerged from high on the slope and proceeded toward them at approximately 80 kilometers per hour, according to local vulcanologists.
Volcanic gases and ash enveloped the trio, inflicting second-and third-degree burns. Area sources say Protti gathered up young Raleigh in his arms and ran, along with Ruffin, to his car. He then drove them to the Los Lagos reception area for help.
A tour guide at Los Lagos, Alberto Alvarez, told The Tico Times that he was there when the trio arrived. Alvarez praised Protti’s bravery, saying that the only concern of the badly injured guide was the little girl.
"The guide is a real hero in all of this," Alvarez said. "As he lifted the girl from the car, I could see that his hand was so badly burned that the skin looked like a glove that was being peeled off. All he cared about were his clients."
Los Lagos staff summoned an ambulance from the Social Security clinic in La Fortuna, about six kilometers way. The community has no Red Cross post. The victims were rushed first to the La Fortuna clinic, then to the hospital at Ciudad Quesada, and finally to San José for emergency treatment.
Rumors that the guide and tourists had disregarded safety barriers to get closer to the volcanic summit were vehemently denied by Alvarez.
"They didn’t cross any lines to get to the volcano," he insisted. "It was the volcano that crossed the line."
According to the National Vulca-nological Institute, this week’s eruption was the worst since 1968, when a similar pyroclastic avalanche destroyed the town of Nuevo Arenal, killing several residents. The last strong eruption occurred in February 1998; no deaths or injuries were reported (TT, Feb. 20, 1998).
The pyroclastic flow was the product of six explosive eruptions from 9:55 a.m. to 10:12 a.m. Aug. 23. The fourth eruption, the worst, created the flow that engulfed the three victims. Later that afternoon, the volcano seemed to announce its return to normal activity, with one final explosive blast around 1:30 p.m.
The National Emergency Commission ordered the evacuation of the tourist centers of Los Lagos, the Tabacón hot springs and resort, Hotel Montaña del Fuego, Arenal Lodge and other nearby centers. According to the commission and Red Cross rescue workers, some 600 tourists and residents were evacuated and the route closed around the volcano to Tilarán.
local resident Rico Bernard was vacationing at Arenal Lodge with his mother, niece and baby during the eruptions.
"It sounded loud; really bad," Bernard recalled. "We headed straight for the car. Everyone was running, and the air was so smoky that I could barely see. We headed straight for Cañas. It looked like serious, serious stuff."
La Fortuna, a popular tourism-based community, was unaffected by the eruptions. The morning following the blasts, the volcano had returned to its normal grumbling but benign behavior, and the road was reopened.
Area hotels reported early Aug. 24 that they were doing a booming business trucking the curious up the hill to view the damage – an eerie gray moonscape of ash and steaming rocks that cut a wide swath among the verdant vegetation that covers the volcano’s slope.
But vulcanologists warned the curious to respect warning signs and safety barriers, since the cooling carpet of rock and ash is still dangerously hot underneath and capable of inflicting severe burns.
Terry Pratt, marketing and advertising director for Horizontes, called Protti a "consummate professional" who had been working as a freelance tour guide for Horizontes and other agencies for seven years. He is survived by his widow, Monica Vargas, and their 3-year-old son, André.
"We loved ‘Nacho’ dearly, and he was very well liked by the people he guided," Pratt said.
Sources close to the Protti family, of the west San José suburb of Escazú, told The Tico Times that Protti loved nature even as a boy and had always wanted to be a nature guide. Ironically, Protti had told friends and family that the fatal visit to Arenal was to be his "last trip," since he was planning on taking a desk job at his family’s tour company.
