Kilauea Volcano Lava Update

Well, the volcano is still in a pause. The park has reopened, except for some trails in the east rift zone (Napau Crater area). You can go all the way down Chain of Craters road and see the massive older lava flows that ran down the hill and covered the road - but that's all there is to see down there right now. There is no lava flowing - so no glow or steam plume or anything. Nothing has happened since my last update. I will update again when the volcano does something new - anything, even if it is just returning back to what it's been doing for 20 years. I am certain it will do something - I don't think Kilauea is done yet, and neither do the scientists, as far as I can tell.

Entrance fees are again required at the park entrance.

What's Going on With Kilauea Volcano Now?

Ok, I'm writing this one week after the big start of the latest big (or not-so big) event. I'll start with now, and then give a recap of what happened in the last week.

Now: Nothing is going on. The park is open, last I heard entrance fees were waived (getting in is free) but Chain of Craters road is closed. You can still drive around the rim and see the caldera and the Halemaumau crater (both pretty cool) and go to the museum and the visitor's center and do the Thurston Lava Tube and some of the crater hikes. You can not see lava flowing, partially because the road to the flow is closed and partially because the lava has stopped flowing! The scientists are calling this a pause. It has happened before, hopefully, the eruption will restart so it can happen again. Personally, I think it will restart :) My guess is that it will restart on ... Thursday. :)

Now the recap:

Last Sunday, June 17th: An earthquake swarm started all this in the middle of the night. There were small earthquakes coming as fast as 1 per minute. Some people in the area may have felt some of them - I, in Hilo, felt nothing. The park was closed, people were evacuated. Tiny cracks opened up in Chain of Craters road near Mauna Ulu. Eruption activity at Pu'u 'O'o (the cinder cone where lava has been coming from for years) continued.

Monday, June 18th: the earhtquake swarm continued. Scientists thought lava was entering a new area at Mauna Ulu. Pu'u 'O'o's south wall started collapsing (more - this has happened before) and the lava level in the cone dropped 20 meters. We have a name - scientists are calling this episode 56 (episode 55 was in February of 1997).

Tuesday June 19th: at 0935, in the upper east rift zone, a lava flow erupted in a protected forest. Scientists called it sluggish, said it was about 600 feet long, and that it stopped by 1100. Acid and smoke pour into the area choking out trees. Doesn't bother anyone else because this is the middle of nowhere.

Wednesday June 20th: The earthquakes are slowing. Activity at Pu'u 'O'o seems to have stopped.

Thursday June 21st: nothing much seems to be going on. At 6:46 p.m., scientists issue a statement saying the "eruption has paused"

Friday: nothing
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing

So, that's where we stand now. I'm sure there will be more to come!

Is Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano getting ready to BLOW?

An earthquake swarm (lots of earthquakes over and over again) that started Sunday morning has caused Hawaii Volcanoes National Park officials to close the eruption site and all summit trails. The visitor center and Jagger museum are currently open but you CAN'T go down Chain of Craters road at all.

This could mean nothing, or it could mean something big - we won't know until it happens or doesn't happen. See the Big Island earthquake map to get a feel for the recent earthquakes - I live in Hilo, about 25 miles down the mountain, and I have felt nothing, so these are not big earthquakes.

Earthquake swarms happen sometimes and mean very little to visitors and residents because nothing really changes - see this post in December 2005 about an earthquake swarm that meant nothing. Other times, major events surprise everyone and there is no indicator to tip officials off and cause evacuations, like episode 54 where two campers woke up at 4 in the morning to see lava fountaining from a fissure only hundreds of feet from their tent. I was working in the park when this episode happened and it was exciting in a big way ... but then everything went back to 'normal'.

So, stay tuned, we'll keep an eye out and see what -if anything- happens.