A volcano in Hawaii fired fountains of lava some 260 feet into the air in a dramatic eruption on the Big Island, filling its crater with the glowing molten rock.
The latest eruption of Kilauea volcano – one of the most active in the world – began early Monday and was limited to a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, according to the United States Geological Survey’s local observatory.
The eruption started within the volcano’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater around 2:20 a.m. local time and within hours enveloped the surrounding 400 acres of caldera floor with lava.
According to the USGS, the volcano fired out partially molten “lava bombs” from its vents, fragments of lava measuring wider than 2.5 inches that are ejected in explosive eruptions, along with the fountains measuring up to 262 feet.
The volcanic eruption ejected a plume of gas including sulfur dioxide and fine volcanic particles that reached up to 8,000 feet altitude, which the USGS said Monday was the primary concern.
The sulfur dioxide reacts with the atmosphere to create volcanic smog, a visible haze known as vog, which can pose a health risk for people with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases.
The agency said winds carried the emissions southwest within a closed area of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The volcanic activity was centered on the summit area, which has been closed to the public since 2007.
After the lava fountains stopped spurting by around 4 p.m., the USGS said in a Monday evening update that the eruption appeared to have paused as seismic tremors decreased.
Earlier in the day, Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency said in a social media post that the volcanic alert level had been downgraded from a “warning” to a “watch.”
Kilauea is the second-largest volcano in Hawaii after Mauna Loa – which is also located on the Big Island.
In the past seven decades, Kilauea has erupted dozens of times, including three times in 2023. In 2018, an eruption that lasted months engulfed homes in lava, destroying more than 700 as hundreds of residents evacuated.