Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, erupted on Monday after a three-month period of inactivity, sending spectacular fountains of bright orange lava as high as 300 feet into the air, CNN reports.
The eruption, which began around 2:20 a.m., has drawn large crowds to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which remains open 24 hours a day.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been monitoring the eruption closely, providing updates and even a livestream of the event. According to the National Park Service, by 5:30 a.m., lava had already covered 500 acres of the caldera floor – the large basin formed by a volcano’s collapse during eruption.
“It’s a pretty exciting time… This is a really big voluminous eruption,” said Ken Hon, the head scientist at the USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, during a livestream chat.
He noted that this is the fifth eruption in the summit area of Kilauea since December 2020. The lava flows have already submerged a 400-acre lava lake that had formed in 2020.
Photos and videos captured the lava fountains erupting and spreading across the caldera floor. Scientists reported the initial eruption occurred quite rapidly.
Volcanic activity began to slow significantly between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. By 5:00 p.m., experts estimated that just over one square mile around the volcano had been covered with lava, which was approximately one yard thick.
While the eruption is contained within the boundaries of the national park and poses no immediate threat to nearby communities, the USGS reported that “emission rates of the volcanic gases were very high,” leading to concerns about air quality downwind from the crater. The National Park Service has advised individuals with respiratory and heart conditions to take necessary precautions.
