Scientists say 2 volcanoes have stopped erupting
U.S. scientists declared Tuesday that two active Hawaii volcanoes — one where lava destroyed hundreds of homes in 2018 and another where lava recently stalled before reaching a crucial Big Island highway — have stopped erupting.
“Kilauea is no longer erupting,” the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement Tuesday, followed by a separate one saying, “Mauna Loa is no longer erupting.”
Alert levels for both volcanoes were reduced from watch to advisory.
Mauna Loa, the world's largest volcano, began spewing molten rock Nov. 27 after being quiet for 38 years, drawing onlookers to take in the incandescent spectacle, and setting some nerves on edge early on among people who've lived through destructive eruptions.
It was Mauna Loa's longest period of repose, said Ken Hon, the observatory's scientist in charge.
Lava-viewers in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park enjoyed the added rare marvel of being able to see Mauna Loa's smaller neighbor, Kilauea, erupting at the same time.
Kilauea had been erupting since September 2021. A 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 700 residences.
Mauna Loa lava didn't pose a threat to any communities, but got within 1.7 miles of a major highway that connects the east and west sides of the island.
Hon called the two-week spectacle, which is a typical timespan for Mauna Loa, “my favorite eruption.”
“It was a beautiful eruption, and lots of people got to see it, and it didn't take out any major infrastructure and most importantly, it didn't affect anybody's life,” he said at a briefing Tuesday.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Talmadge Magno said a one-way route that opened to manage traffic from throngs of people watching the lava would close Thursday.