Thousands of tourists have stormed the snowy slopes of Sicily’s Mount Etna in recent weeks, congesting roads and obstructing the paths of rescue crews, the Italian authorities said, despite their efforts to keep people safely away from explosive lava flows.

Mount Etna regularly erupts, and it has drawn tourists for decades. But the latest eruption, which began on Feb. 8, has drawn so many photographers, hikers and nature aficionados that it has raised a chorus of warnings and orders from local Italian officials.

Salvo Cocina, Sicily’s regional civil protection leader, in a statement Sunday described a “constant flow” of about 1,000 people, as well as “wild parking on the edges of tight streets” that created an impasse for emergency vehicles.

“With the dark, the risk of falling and sinking into the snow increases proportionally with the increase of people,” he said.

“Etna is giving us a breathtaking spectacle: A lava flow has reached our territory,” Mayor Fabio Mancuso of Adrano warned his town near the foot of Etna a day earlier. “A lot of people are trying to get closer to admire this natural phenomenon, but it is extremely dangerous!”