‘Beautiful’ eruption a big tourist draw
Lava from Kilauea has spurted high into the air and spread out across about 120ha of the Hawaiian volcano’s summit crater floor, creating a spectacular sight as the mountain erupts again after a few weeks’ hiatus.
Jillian Marohnic, who operates the Volcano Hideaways holiday rental business with her husband in the nearby village of Volcano, said the pool of lava that formed inside Halemaumau Crater was ‘‘the most beautiful’’ she had seen in her 25 years of watching Kilauea. ‘‘The surface of the lake looks like stained glass.’’
Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. The latest eruption began on Thursday, less than one month after Kilauea and its larger neighbour Mauna Loa went quiet.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Kilauea’s latest eruption was expected to remain inside the summit crater, which is within Hawaii Vol- canoes National Park and away from residential communities.
The observatory on Friday raised Kilauea’s alert level, but later lowered it from warning to watch.
The beauty of the eruption has been a big draw for visitors. John Tarson, who owns tour company EpicLava, said he had been talking ‘‘non-stop’’ with tourists who wanted to see the volcano.
‘‘They’re rerouting all their plans and coming back so that they can see this,’’ Tarson said.
Yesterday, lava from Kilauea shot as high as 50m into the air, but most socalled ‘‘lava fountains’’ have been smaller, at 10m high. The crater surface had risen 10m as a result of all the new lava added, the observatory said.
This was typical behaviour at the start of Kilauea eruptions, said Matt Patrick, a geologist at the observatory. ‘‘This is a cycle of collapse and refilling that Kilauea has done many, many
times at its summit.’’
Kealoha Pisciotta, a cultural practitioner who lives on the slopes of Kilauea, is encouraging Native Hawaiians in Hawaii and beyond to acknowledge akua – gods and goddesses such as Pele, the deity of volcanoes and fire. ‘‘Wherever you are, take time out today to reflect upon them and thank them for bringing new life and new land,’’ she said.