TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A temple in Wandan Township in Pingtung County was the scene of an incredible sight as flames and mud spewed from four fumaroles.

The eruption occurred in the early hours of Feb. 8 with mud flying as high as two meters, and flames doubling this height both in front and on the right side of the Huangyuan Temple, according to a Liberty Times report.

Flames caused damage to nearby power cables, and Taipower rushed to the scene to cut electricity and prevent further damage to the power grid. The Wandan Fire Department also arrived on the scene, though they did not attempt to put out the flames.

Wandan Township Wannei Village Chief Chen Yu-yi (陳玉意) said he had just gone to bed when he heard the news of the eruption just after midnight. After arriving at the scene, he found one of the three fumaroles in front of the temple was ignited, and shortly thereafter, fire spread to all three fumaroles.

Chen said an excavator would be dispatched to the scene to deal with the freshly spewed mud which had begun to form a deep pool around the temple. Wandan’s mud volcano seems to erupt on a semi-annual basis, which attracts tourists to the site, with the last eruption occurring on Oct. 26.

For farmers in the area, the mud volcano is mostly a nuisance as it damages nearby fields. Adjacent rice fields had just recently been planted. The previous eruption in October spilled over onto pumpkin fields which could not survive the hot mud and clogged irrigation.

Located at the junction of Wandan Township and Xinyuan Township in Pingtung, the Wandan Mud Volcano is fueled by abundant underground natural gas. It is one of a half dozen such mud volcanoes in Taiwan, while around 1,100 have been identified on or near land, the majority of which appear with no flames.