Category: Kilauea

The wait, despite the shorter expected interval, was longer this time. It started with the first visible pooling of the lava on the webcam at  2000. We continued to watch until we saw overflow at around 2145. Decided it was time to head over and start observing in person.

Arrived shortly before 2300, and did not witness another overflow until 0215. There was another almost two hours later. it was fairly strong, and lasted around 11 minutes.

The intervals were about one hour apart until 0700, with longer durations, when they started to decrease. By 1530, they had dropped into the 6 to 8 minutes range. This was starting to look the preliminary activity before the previous eruption.

All of these overflows seemed to have the effect of slowing raising the lip and bottom of the lava waterfall, with the bottom rising faster. There seemed to be less distance between the two by the time of the eruption start.

This state of affairs continued until 2100, when I decided to head back to the parking area and do some watching via webcam, which actually had a better view of the vent when it came to details.

The lot was full, but there was some turnover. A lot of the vehicles were running their engines, i guess because it was humid and foggy, and if you didn't open the windows, it fogged up inside. 

The overflows stopped by the time I got to the car, and after several hours of absolutely nothing happening, Suzanne also returned and we went back to our accommodations to eat, recharge dead batteries and get a little sleep.

it was now well into 30 September, which was supposed to be our last full day of the trip. We had the webcam on the wall screen the whole time, and nothing continued to happen until noon approached. By then we decided to return to the parking lot to secure a space, if any were available.

We wasted some time since the overflows were still intermittent. The parking lot had a number of empty spaces when we arrived, but these were slowly filling up. The people started using the parallel spaces, and we decided it was time to return to the overlook.

We managed to replace our previous view spot, as there weren't many there. I didn't notice anyone who looked like they were waiting like we were, as we had the only chairs out there.

The second round of overflow ended around 1900. A couple of hours later I did as the night before, headed back to the car to reconfigure.  Dozed off and just before midnight decided to check the camera again. There was heavy overflow from the vent, so called Suzanne to find out when it started. She said she was about to call me. I quickly got myself together, and a half hour later was back out. The sky was glowing red for the last half of the mile walk.

For the next half hour the flow did not let up, and then it seemed like the doming over the vent was turning to jetting. The USGS start of the eruption was put at 0053. For the next hour the height of the jetting got taller, surpassing the height we had seen in the previous eruption. Then at just before 0145, the glow in the South vent began to get brighter. First lava poured out, then it too began jetting. Within a couple of minutes its height was greater than that of the North Vent. And it continued to get higher.

At their best, I was estimating 240 to 300 m/800 to 1000 ft for the North Vent, and 350 to 450m/1200 to 1500 ft for the South. I've not seen a report for the North, but the USGS put the south at 1300ft, so my estimates were in range.

With the eruptions so tall, there was little liquid lava running down the slopes. Instead there was a stead rain of solidified lava. At times the jets were obscured by a curtain of this material. We could also see it being swept upwards by the convection current, which made height estimation a bit difficult.

With two lava columns, we could feel a bit of warmth coming from that direction, surprising considering the distance.

It wasn't until about 0400 that it started to look like the height was decreasing. Around 0530 I thought that the power of the columns was decreasing, but they kept coming back.

By then it was getting light. The night started out clear, but as it got lighter, the clouds turned to mist. It never turned into rain, but the area got wet. 

Finally, around 0650 it be came obvious that the end was near. The South vent height dropped rapidly, ending at 0700. The North Vent continued for another three minutes before it also quit.

For the first few hours the crowd was well behaved. Around 0300 the Asian selfie mobs started to appear. At one point the took over a huge area beyond the rope boundary to the left of us, and proceeded for the next hour to prance around making idiotic poses and gang gestures. It got kind of tiring to see these same gestures over and over by people who seemed to be under the impression they were being witty and original. At a couple of points we had to yell at some of the selfie gaijin, as they were stop waving their overly bright lights in our direction, or getting too close to the cliff edge slope. I came to the conclusion that the best way to describe these people is that "they were not here to see the volcano erupt, but to be seen at the volcano eruption". It would have been easier and cheaper, in both time and money, so do their antics in front of a large screen projector. (I hope and expect to see so-called AI created selfies in the near future. Then maybe the selfie plague will end when no one will believe you were there.)

Just before the eruption ended, at dawn, a flock of nene (Hawaiian geese) flew behind us. As in Yellowstone, it appears they commute into an area in the morning, hang around for the day, then disappear at sunset. We saw them (with multiple tourists getting too close) on our way back to the parking lot.

The order of events we saw were quite similar in both eruptions we saw, but more drawn out this time, despite the shorter interval. At times it seemed the volcano was deliberately going slow to make sure we could not make our original travel plans for home. As it was, the eruption started after our deadline for leaving. Fortunately, we had alternate flights booked, and were easily able to extend the car rental. It was midday after the eruption ended when we were able to find a place to stay.

On the evening of 02 October, I felt the 3.7 earthquake at 2029 located just south of Pahala. It was like the rumbling for a second of a piece of heavy equipment (electric generator, for example) starting up. Outside, the frog noises, which are loud and constant much of the night, decreased for a moment or two. Suzanne didn't feel a thing.

M 3.9 - 2 km SSW of Pāhala, Hawaii

Since the last visit in December, what can be seen of the volcano has changes, as the level inside the crater has come up considerably, and the vents are now at the top of a large cinder cone. Spent a couple of days checking out the various viewpoints to determine which one best suited our needs. The viewpoint off the old Crater Rim Road before from the Keanakako'i Crater still seemed the best, although just down the road across from the crater seemed possible.

Across from the Kilauea Military Camp along the rim, between the trees, were a number of viewpoints with direct views at the vents, but these would view an inclined eruption column head on. It was from one of these at around 0838 on the morning of 17 September that we saw the first lava overflow for the upcoming eruption episode. Saw two from there, indicating that it was time to start paying attention.

We arrived around midnight to start 18 September. We decided to try the farther overlook, to stay away from the crowds at the main overlook. We had the area to ourselves, and started watching the overflows. The overflows were quite consistent, lasting about two minutes and occurring every seven to nine minutes. This location was a bit breezy, and during much of the night until dawn it was damp from a consistent mist that never really turned into rain.

Around noon the overflows stopped. We returned to the car and the parking lot to get out of the wind for a while. A couple of overflows around 1400 got us back out, but these overflows again stopped, with nothing going on until sunset. We decided to go back to the car to get a nap and wait for something to happen. By 2100, nothing had, se that was when we decided that we needed to return to our cabin to rest up, have something to eat, and recharge our various powered devices. Put the V1 webcam view on the wall screen and waited.

Around midnight (again) we saw the first lava overflow since sunset, and knew it was time to head out. The parking lot was half empty, which was a pleasant surprise. We had thought that there would be a considerable number of people waiting. Decided that were we had waited the day before was too windy and exposed, and would need to join the rest of the crowd. We left our cabin at 0100, arrived at the parking lot 15 minutes later, and walked out to the main overlook, arriving around 00:45. The overflow had continued, or restarted before we arrived. (The glow was consistent on the walk out.) We found the rope line pretty much filled with people waiting. Found a spot that gave us an unobstructed view, and started another wait.

This time the overflows were more irregular and longer. A couple of hours later we got the strongest one yet, and it looked as if it was finally going to go into a full eruption. The USGS start time was 0311, but from our point of view it had started well before that.

Unlike a geyser, where the maximum height is near the start. This eruption took its time, at least a half hour, to slowly reach full height. For this eruption, that height seemed around 225m/750ft, and it stayed there for several hours.

Several times during this period, starting at 0400, the South Vent started to overflow, then well up strongly for a minute or two. It looked like it too was about to start erupting, but it never did. By dawn this activity had subsided.

Before dawn there was an influx of people who seemed to only be there to take selfies, no matter what the volcano was doing, so they got lucky to see an eruption. By sunrise most of the people waiting overnight had left.

Just before noon the South Vent overflowed again, the first time in daylight. With the second overflow, it seemed apparent that the eruption was ending. Over a matter of a couple of minutes the North Vent eruption height dropped, and then it quit.

People applauding the end of an eruption is not just a Yellowstone Grand Geyser phenomena. That happened with the end of this eruption.

There seemed to be a large contingent of people arriving just after the eruption ended. Overheard a few mentioning that they were staying at resorts in the Kona area, which is well over two hours drive away. So I would suspect these are people who hadn't intended to be hear, but in the morning heard of the eruption and headed over, leaving at the start of Tourist Hours (1000-1700), arriving just in time to miss everything.

For our latest trip to the Island of Hawaii, Kilauea was quiet, and we didn't expect to spend much time in the vicinity. We did spend several days staying at Volcano, where, surprisingly, we never got any rain lasting more than a few minutes. Most of the time spent in the Volcanoes National Park was to see some nene who were frequenting the Pu'upua'i parking lot.

So it was a complete surprise when, on 23 Dec, our next to last day of the trip, we were awakened in the early hours by reports of new erupting activity. Unfortunately, we were staying in Kohala, well over a two hour drive from Kilauea. We got organized as best we could, and headed out just before dawn, at which point the eruption had been going for at least four hours. We took a break in Hilo to fill the gas tank on the car, then made a decision to try and stay an extra day. Turned out to be easier than expected. From the Safeway parking lot, we were able to get a flight out corresponding to our original flight, just 24 hours later. The auto rental company had an automated system that quickly allowed the addition of an extra day. As for where to stay, we'd worry about that later.

As we approached Volcano, we could see the smoke plume from the crater directly in front of us.

We arrived at the Devastation trailhead parking lot around 09:00, where there were still a few open parking spaces. A few days earlier that lot was empty (including nene). Hiked out to the overlook, passing a number of people who were headed in. Practically from the parking lot we could hear the sound of the eruption. At the overlook there wasn't much of a crowd, and there were spaces available for viewing along the rope line.

On the far wall (I later determined this to be about 2.4km/1.5 miles away) were three large lava fountains. Based on the time it took for rocks to fall from their peak, we estimated the activity was at least 80m/275ft high. The lava was bright orange, but the lava lake was mostly crusted over and black. There were a few red cracks visible. These kept changing throughout our time there, and occasionally there was small spurts of red from one of them.

The roaring from the vents varied, and with the distance, it was almost impossible to correlate the activity with the sound.

By the time we left, about six hours later, the weather had deteriorated a bit. It was getting windy and damp, and it was also time to visit the vault at the trailhead. The hike takes about 20-25 minutes, and by the time we got to the car, it had started to actually rain a bit. Not sure what to do, we decided that the rain would be less at the overlook, and while that was true, it was still wet. We headed back to the overlook. The rain and humidity also meant that the crater was now a bit foggy. The activity also seemed to have gotten smaller.

By then we had to make some decisions. Mostly where to stay and how to check out of our place in Kohala. We decided that it made sense to drive back then, pack up and then drive back for some nighttime observations. We could be checked out at least, and worst case, end up sleeping in the car.

As it turned out, the eruptive activity quieted down by the time we reached Hilo, about a half hour later. That was a bit of a relief, as the pressure to put in a lot of driving was now gone, and we knew we weren't missing anything (except seeing the end). We made it back to our place around sunset, and found out that our hosts did not have anyone staying the next night, and were willing to extend us a day, into Christmas. (They also helped our food situation with a gift of some of the day's fish catch, which grilled up nicely.)

So we got a good night's sleep, and the next morning found that there was still no activity. That being the case, we went ahead with what had been our plans for yesterday. That meant going to a location with poor to no cell service, where Suzanne went snorkeling. The day was hazy from the smoke and particles put out by Kilauea, in contrast to the nice clear skies we'd had for the past two weeks. And we did get a bit more organized, just in case.

It was there, shortly after noon, that we learned that the activity had restarted. Time for another change of plans. We went back to our accommodations, about twenty minutes away, and packed up as if we were checking out. If the activity died down again, we could always drive back for a nap, but we believed we were not going to be back, and would be spending the night at the volcano. We were packed up and on the road by 15:00

We arrived back at sunset (about 17:30) and things had changed. The parking lots were jammed, but fortunately we were able to park alongside the road just outside the Devastation parking lot. (As long as you weren't over the white fog line, the NPS didn't care. The day before we did see a few citations handed out to cars blocking the traffic lane.)

The crowd was four deep this time, and spilling over beyond the rope line. I decided that I wanted to see something and joined them for a short time. By then, someone shout out that the NPS was ticketing people, and the crowd quickly got legal, at least for a while.

The activity was comparable to the previous day, but different vents were activity. The most active the previous day was now quiet, with only the middle vent jetting to about 60 meters high. As it got darker, the crowd thinned enough that we were able to finally end up on the rope line and not be blocked in our views.

A lot of people sitting on chairs, for example, left about then, which I found surprising, as nighttime can be fairly spectacular. Only once did we have Skype calls inflicted on us, and a couple had to call all their family members, it being Christmas eve. There were also a lot of people who force their way over the rope line, snap their selfies (using a flash to make sure their pose was visible) and then leave. Later in the night there was one couple who spent the better part of half an hour getting that perfect pose.

The wind started out pretty calm, but picked up once it got completely dark. With the temperature in the low 50s, it made for some discomfort at times.

By midnight things had quieted down a lot, although there was a sudden uptick in people about a half hour later. Probably residents driving up for a quick Christmas selfie. In any case, by about 02:00 we decided we needed to visit the vault. On the walk out, we got to dodge people on skateboard and bicycles, and people playing loud music. On the way back, it appeared we got to encounter these same people a second time. I suppose they stayed out just long enough for that all-important selfie.

Or maybe not. We also discovered that finding the turnoff from the old, paved road to the gravel walkway was not easy in the dark. We missed it and continued on for about 50 yards. We could see fountaining, but not the activity at the base. What helped fool us were the number of lights on the old road beyond the junction. A lot of people were missing that cutoff, it seems.

With a little effort we found the trail, and arrived back to find maybe a dozen people at the overlook. No one else showed up for quite a while, despite all the lights on the old roadway. Not that I minded too much. This group was mostly quiet and spread out, which was similar to our experiences when we visited several years ago.

We set a hard deadline of 03:30 for leaving. That left enough time to walk to the car and drive to one of the empty non-overlook parking lots to remove excess clothing and otherwise reconfigure for the two hour drive. There seemed to be a lot of traffic coming in from Hilo as we left, especially for early on Christmas morning. The drive back over the Saddle Road was a bit of an adventure, as we were both overly tired, and that road, in the dark, is boring, and with little to no traffic this time. But we made it to Kona around dawn. (According to the car thermometer, it was 36°F at the summit rest stop, at 6000ft elevation).

Back in Kona, we found out the hard way that when Costco says they are closed on a holiday, that includes the gas pumps. But fortunately, there was a relatively cheap self-serve station in the same industrial park. We'd intended to pull into the Costco lot to reconfigure our luggage for the flight out, but instead ended up at the parking lot of a Subway we'd remembered from an earlier trip. We also used their picnic table to eat the last of our groceries. That put us at the rental agency almost exactly two hours before our 10:00 flight departure, which meant our deadline at Kilauea had been a good one.

It turns out that about the time we left, that eruption ended. So our hope of seeing a final smoke plume south beyond Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea (which were visible above the clouds and volcanic haze) didn't happen.