Hawaii/Big Island: Current Volcanic Activity

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From January 1983 to present, the Kilauea Volcano has been going through an eruptive era. A new "episode" of this volcanoe's eruption is going on and this warrants a very careful watch. The events starting from Father's Day (June 17, 2007) and are almost identical to the events that led up to the January 1997 eruptions at the Napau Crater.

These are the following events since the activity started.

• On June 18, 2007 there was a small eruption; only a wink of things to come.
• On July 21, 2007 new fissures opened and lava erupted from the east vents of Pu'u O'o Vent and the crater floors began to sink
• Late July 21 lava erupts and moves for a little while then stops
• July 22 flows ponding between Pu`u Halulu, Pu`u Kahauale`a, and Kupaianaha
• July 25: 3 of the ponds breached and red flows are extending out with one flow moving southeastward.
• July 26: Eruption continues and two magnitude 3+ earthquakes happened at the SW rift zone at depths of 20 feet.

I haven't been to the Big Island of Hawaii since 1972 or so. My family specifially flew over there from Oahu to view the eruptions that were fierce. There was some kind of makeshift platform and we could only go so far to look. I can remember feeling heat on my face with the glowing spewing lava jumping into the air from the depths of the earth below.

On May 23, 2007 I posted Blogging about "VOG" in Hawaii which was about the air pollution the activity of the volcanoes on the Big Island causes. If the winds are blowing toward Oahu then we get it pretty thick.

Not three weeks after this picture (below left) the activity began. Picture on the right was taken on May 30..so you can see the difference after the winds blew away the vog.

There are also specific ares that are closes so be aware that there are rules/closed areas in Hawaii Volcano National Park. (picture courtesy of National Park Service)

Courtesy of Hawaii Center for Volcanology

(no date: just wanted to show what a flow looks like)

Eruption in 2002...flowed right over Royal Gardens Subdivision.

Photograph by USGS
photo and caption credit
U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey

Celeste "Sally" Cheeseman's Mililani Hawaii Real Estate Blog 2007