Manila, Philippines ? About 40 families living near the Bulusan volcano were evacuated Sunday after ash and pebbles spewed from the restive volcano.

With the new ash explosion, Bulusan’s eighth since it came back to life in March, Filipino scientists said they would assess anew the possibility of a major eruption.

Renato Solidum, director of the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology, said the explosion belched ash up to 1.2 miles into the sky. Scientists said they needed to gather more details and possibly conduct a second aerial survey of Bulusan’s summit in a week before they can assess the prospects of a major eruption.

Bulusan’s recent ash and gas ejections indicate molten rocks called magma may be moving up within the volcano but it remains to be seen whether it would lead to a major eruption, Solidum said.

Bulusan is about 240 miles southeast of Manila.