Our man at Kilauea volcano, Bill Harby, just reported in.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, closed for two days, just reopened this afternoon at 1 p.m. 

Even though the tradewinds that usually clear the air have not returned, the sulfur dioxide fumes from Halemaumau and Pu'u O'o have diminished enough to make it safe for visitors. And the visitors were there.

When Harby went to the reopened park, he saw seven large tour buses parked at the Kilauea steam vents.

However, the prime viewing spot from the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum overlook remains closed.

Harby himself is breathing easier. "It's nice to look out my window just a few miles from the crater," he says, "and see the rain forest instead of the vog." As we talked on the phone, there was the boom of thunder in the distance. "I hope a good hard rain will wash more SO₂ out of the air."

 

Our friend, Big Island writer Bill Harby, wrote us this morning with a report on vog conditions at his home in Volcano Village near Kilauea's summit.
  
Wow, in a matter of minutes the air and skies in my neighborhood went from crystal clear to vog fear.

This is what my backyard looked like yesterday afternoon. It looked a lot like this when I woke up this morning, too.

I live five miles from the summit of Kilauea volcano and about 15 miles from the erupting cinder cone Pu'u O'o—both of which are spewing steam and sulfur dioxide gas right now.

The vog arrived suddenly yesterday. There were clear skies. I blinked. And we were all socked in.

This may force me to evacuate my home in the coming hours. Or not, if our beloved Hawaii tradewinds kick in again. Then we'll be breathing easy again.

Meanwhile, my windows are all shut and I'm laying low. As far as vog conditions go, it's minute-to-minute here.

I'll give a shout (or loud cough) when things change.

 

High levels of sulfur dioxide from Kilauea eruptions today closed Hawaii Volcanoes National Park for the second time this month.

This afternoon’s closure—like the first, on April 8— was caused by noxious fumes emanating from eruptions at Kilauea’s summit Halemaumau vent and further downslope Pu’u O’o vent.

“Our primary concern is for the health and safety of visitors and employees,” said incident commander Joe Molhoek. “We're in close contact with the National Weather Service and look forward to favorable winds by week's end.”

Park rangers were clearing all facilities and campgrounds. Guests at the Volcano House hotel overlooking Kilauea caldera and Halemaumau crater, and residents of Kilauea Miliarty Camp on the summit, were being evacuated. Only National Park Service emergency personnel will remain on duty until weather conditions return to normal.

More than 2,000 visitors, campers, residents and employees were evacuated from the 500 square-mile park on April 8 when volcanic emissions containing high levels of sulfur dioxide enveloped the Kilauea summit. The park remained closed for two days until tradewinds shifted the vog (or “volcanic smog”) downwind of the summit and out to sea.

It was the first time Hawaii Volcanoes National Park had closed since 1982.

You can keep track of sulfur dioxide levels and wind directions at Kilauea here. The site updates information from Halemaumau and Pu’o O’o vents every 15 minutes.
 
 

Geologists at Kilauea summit’s Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory bring new meaning to the words “field work" every day.

Just check out these photos of a typical day at the office for Kilauea geologists, posted on the observatory’s Web site this weekend.

Last week was a relatively quiet one on the Kilauea summit. There was a small blast of rock dust at the Halemaumau vent on Wednesday. But otherwise, summit tradewinds from the northeast returned, carrying ash plumes from Halemaumau and Pu'u O'o vents southeast to the sea.

The result? Enough time to snap some photos of the geologists’ 9-to-5.

Yes, that really is a radar gun the geologist in the photo above is pointing at molten lava as it speeds through an underground tube system near Pu'u O'o. Who knew the technology accurate enough to trap speeders on Oahu’s H-1 freeway was good enough for measuring the speed of lava, too.

In the second photo (right), geologists stand just yards away from an open crack in the Pu'u O'o lava tube to measure the chamber’s size. They combine this measurement with the flow-speed measurements to calculate the volume of lava moving through the tube.

(Click on the photos to enlarge.)

You can keep current with what Kilauea geologists are up to—and better still, the one-of-a-kind photos they’re always taking—by clicking HVO's photo archive here.

We make it a part of our own 9-to-5 every day.

  

One of the joys about HAWAII Magazine is that our readers love to talk story with us. As a result, we’ve created a section in our magazine called, “Your Hawaii”—an assortment of short stories about our readers’ Hawaii experience.

In our May/June issue, HAWAII Magazine reader and geologist Lawrence Galiano and his wife, Lori, of Hammonton, N.J., tell us what it was like to spend an afternoon hiking over lava flows at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Here’s an excerpt:

“We were so close to it all—fresh lava was slowly moving just below the surface beneath our feet. … It was amazing to think that this was where the island was growing larger and larger each day.”

You’ll find the rest of Lawrence’s “Your Hawaii” story—along with tales from three other HAWAII Magazine readers—in our May/June 2008 issue, on newsstands now.

Interested in sharing your Hawaii experience with us? Submit your story and photos to yourhawaii@hawaiimagazine.com.

 

A small explosion at Kilauea's summit jolted scientists this morning, while sulfur dioxide-laced fumes fueled another evacuation advisory for a community downwind.

The explosion happened just before 4 a.m. (Hawaii time), sending faintly pink ash across the crater’s overlook. Geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the ash appeared to be rock dust with no volcanic glass fragments. This was the third explosion at Kilauea summit’s Halemaumau crater vent since March 19.

Meanwhile, Big Island Civil Defense issued a brief evacuation advisory for Hawaiian Ocean View Estates after increased sulfur dioxide levels were detected by fire department monitors. The advisory was issued at 7:45 a.m., and cancelled two hours later when levels of the noxious fumes had decreased.

It was the second Big Island Civil Defense evacuation advisory in a week caused by fumes from Halemaumau carried downwind. Hawaiian Ocean View Estates is a rural residential subdivision located south of Kailua-Kona on the west side of the Big Island. Kilauea’s summit is on the east side of the island.

Park ranger Mardie Lane told us that weather conditions at the summit today are overcast skies with still to light variable winds carrying the plume away from the area. However, park visitors should always be aware that conditions can and do change instantly.

"The whim of the wind is a powerful force," said Lane. "It's going to guide us in directions about opening and closing certain areas. So people do need to know that when we make a decision to do something it is for their safety and ours. And this can happen at any time on any day."

Click here for an archive of all of HawaiiMagazine.com's volcano news posts.
 
 

The last few days—while eyes have been on the shifting plume of steam and toxic gas at the 4,000-foot summit of Kilauea volcano—the fire goddess Pele has been creating the world’s newest beach an hour’s drive away.
 
On Wednesday, I headed from my home near the summit to the end of Highway 130 to watch the spectacle of lava flowing into the sea.
 
The parking area is overseen by Hawaii County workers, who have got to be the world’s friendliest civil servants. From there I could see three huge plumes of steam gushing into the air. It’s a 10-minute walk with a stream of other lava seekers to the taped-off viewing area.
 
A few hundred yards away, the spectacle is there before you: the ocean roiling as molten lava oozes in, huge plumes of white steam furiously unfolding and pushing up to the sky. After dark, fingers of red-orange lava glow against the black rock.
 
Just beyond the viewing area, some visitors leave ho'okupu (offerings)—flower lei and other gifts wrapped in ti leaves. These are to honor Pele.

Also just beyond where I stood was Pele's newest creation—a tiny apron of black sand growing beside a rivulet of molten lava. As the lava meets the ocean, it sends up a plume of steam peppered with tiny flecks of flash-cooled lava rock. Then the ocean current pushes these little shards of rock back up on shore to create new little beaches like this one.
 
It’s beautiful, but definitely not suitable for swimming just yet.
 
The viewing area at the end of Highway 130 is open daily from 2 p.m. Cars may park until 8 p.m., and the area is cleared around 9 p.m.  

 

An explosion at Kilauea summit’s Halemaumau crater vent Wednesday night blasted incandescent rock into the air and onto the crater’s rim, geologists said this afternoon. The second Halemaumau explosion in three weeks also enlarged the vent by 15 to 30 feet.

(Click above photo to enlarge.)

The new explosion occurred at 11:08 p.m. (Hawaii time) Wednesday, but geologists apparently held the news for most of today.

The new explosion was smaller in magnitude than Halemaumau’s March 19 blast—which geologists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory did not see, since it occurred in the early morning hours at a time when they were not watching the summit as carefully.

But with Halemaumau activity now closely monitored 24/7, geologists witnessed all of last night’s event—which blasted rock onto the crater rim, more than 230 feet above the vent.

HVO geologists exploring the rim just after sunrise found lava spatter and rocks. The spatter melted plastic pans they’d placed on the rim to collect material from Halemaumau’s ongoing steam and ash eruption.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was closed to the public when last night's eruption occurred. The park reopened this morning, after shutting down for two days due to high levels of sulfur dioxide in the air.

Big Island Civil Defense, meanwhile, said residents of Pahala—19 miles south and downwind of the Halemaumau vent—had reported falling ash last night. HVO geologists are suggesting that the ash could have been tiny fragments of rock pulverized by the explosion.

  

The view of the plume resumes!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park reopened for business this morning. Tradewinds began carrying "vog" (or "volcanic smog") away from visitor areas. The park had been closed for two days as winds kept fumes from Kilauea volcano—laced with high levels of noxious sulfur dioxide—lingering near the summit.

It was the first time that the entire 500 square-mile park had closed since 1982.

This morning, east and northeast tradewinds began pushing vog toward the sea—away from the summit Halemaumau crater steam and ash eruption and the downslope Pu’u O’o vent.

The park opened at 10 a.m. Areas open include the oceanside Waikupanaha lookout, where lava is flowing into the sea, and the Jaggar Museum overlook, which currently has the best view of the Halemaumau vent.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokesman Michael Larson told us that skies this morning at the Kilauea summit were overcast, with a few showers. “But we definitely have our tradewinds back."

Better still, cars full of anxious visitors were already streaming into the park.

“It’s busy,” said Larson. “People are excited and ready to explore the park again. And we’re glad to have it open.”

Meanwhile, if you’re as seriously interested in sulfur dioxide levels and wind directions at Kilauea as we are, check out the park’s new Web site that tracks just that. It updates data from both Kilauea eruption sites every 15 minutes.
  

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park remains closed. But residents living near Kilauea’s summit, for the most part, are still in their homes.

Most Volcano-area residents reacted to yesterday’s Big Island Civil Defense evacuation advisory by staying put. Weather forecasters feared winds might move through their communities through Thursday, carrying high levels of noxious sulfur dioxide fumes from eruptions at the Halemaumau vent on Kilauea’s summit and downslope Pu’u O’o vent.

The winds arrived, all right. But at a higher elevation, keeping sulfur dioxide from Kilauea’s steam and ash eruptions largely above residential areas. Instead, communities as far north as Hilo—40 miles away—woke up to a thick layer of “vog” (or “volcanic smog”) yesterday, which tradewinds dissipated by mid-morning.

Easterly tradewinds are now expected to blow fumes away from residential areas and out to the ocean, beginning this evening through the weekend. Until then, civil defense officials are advising Volcano residents to watch for shifts in wind elevations that could still bring sulfur dioxide-laced air.

Yesterday’s only mandatory Kilauea-area evacuees were a couple thousand Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitors and campers, non-emergency employees, residents of Kilauea Military Camp and Volcano House hotel guests. The entire 500 square-mile park was closed Tuesday afternoon because of high levels of sulfur dioxide fumes at Kilauea's summit. A date for reopening it to the public has not been set.

“The park will reopen when favorable winds return and sulfur dioxide levels diminish in the area,” park officials wrote today in a statement.

Overall, evacuation at Kilauea was so low-key, only six people ended up overnight at a Hilo shelter.