Towering lava fountains of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano trigger park and highway closures

HONOLULU — The latest lava fountaining episode of an erupting Hawaii volcano reached 1,000 feet (300 meters) high Tuesday, prompting temporary closures at a national park and part of an important highway due to falling glassy volcanic fragments, including ash.

Kīlauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, has been dazzling residents and visitors for more than a year with an on-and-off eruption that periodically sends fountains of lava soaring into the sky. The fountaining that began Tuesday morning marked the eruption’s 43rd episode since it began in December 2024.

A livestream showed two fountains of bright-red lava and smoke, though it remains unclear how long the fountaining will last. Some episodes have lasted a few days, while others only lasted a few hours.

Like previous times, the molten rock was confined within Kīlauea’s summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and hasn’t threatened homes or buildings. However, the lava fountains created challenges for neighboring communities and a highway where volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra, were falling.

The presence of tephra led to temporary closures around the national park’s summit area, as well as a partial closure of Highway 11—an important route around the island—on either side of the park. In response, Hawaii County officials opened a shelter at a district gymnasium to assist residents and tourists affected by the road closure and falling tephra. According to Tom Callis, a county spokesperson, no one was using the shelter shortly after it opened.

The National Weather Service issued an ashfall warning. Volcanic tephra can irritate eyes, skin, and the respiratory system, county officials warned. Additionally, tephra can clog and cause issues with water catchment collection systems, which are common in some parts of the Big Island.

During a previous fountaining episode, ash fell so heavily that some communities required help from county civil defense workers to clean the ash coating their homes, Callis added.
https://abcnews.com/Technology/wireStory/towering-lava-fountains-hawaiis-kilauea-volcano-trigger-park-130950476

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