The Kilauea volcano erupts on the island of Hawaii, attracting people for the holidays

On By Littum



CNN
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One of the world’s most active volcanoes erupted Monday after a three-month hiatus, spewed bright orange lava as high as 300 feet, according to United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, also known as the Big Island, began erupting around 2:20 a.m. and continued throughout the day — bringing packed crowds to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is open to the public 24 hours a day.

The USGS also issued one live stream of the play.

By 5:30 a.m., 500 acres of lava covered the caldera floor, a large basin that forms when a volcano erupts and collapses, according to National Park Service.

Photos and videos obtained by CNN show fountains of lava flowing and spreading through the caldera floor.

Lava erupts from vents on the west side of the caldera wall, feeding lava flows that cover the area of ​​Halema'uma'u crater during a new eruption at the summit caldera of Kaluapele, which began early at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano, on 23 .December, 2024.

“It’s a pretty exciting time … This is a really big, massive eruption,” Ken Hon, chief scientist at the USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said in a live stream chat.

“It was a pretty quick start for one of these eruptions. This is the fifth eruption that we’ve had in Kilauea’s summit area since December 2020,” he said, adding that lava flows have already covered a 400-hectare lava lake that began in 2020.

Between 3 and 4 p.m., volcanic activity began to subside significantly, scientists said.

A geologist from the US Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory checks a webcam located on the rim of the caldera during a new eruption that began early at the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii. 23 December 2024.

At about 5 p.m., experts reported that a little more than a square kilometer around the volcano was covered. The lava is also estimated to be about 1 yard thick, according to a publication published by the USGS.

The authorities assured the public that nearby communities would not be at risk from the eruption since it is contained within the national park, but that “emission rates of the volcanic gases were very high” and spread with the wind from the crater, affecting air quality, according to the USGS.

The National Park Service advised those with respiratory and heart conditions to exercise caution.