VOLCANO, HAWAII (KHON2) — Kīlauea put on another spectacular show on the morning of June 20.
The 26th episode of the ongoing eruption had lava fountains up to 1,000 feet once again, and the anticipation of another episode has kept Hawaii Volcanoes National Park extremely busy.
The 26th episode began around 1:40 a.m. on June 20, with some of the biggest fountains yet.
“We’re pretty sure that this episode set a new record for this eruption,” explained Dr. David Phillips, Hawaii Volcano Observatory deputy scientist in charge.
He said since the large fountain events began on Memorial Day, May 25, there has been an episode about once a week.
Waimea resident Justin Hirako has been monitoring the USGS data and making the two-hour drive to the park nearly once a week once the data reaches a certain threshold.
“I figured last night since the inflation or tilt was at that threshold where it normally is when it erupts, I figured just chance it and go and thank goodness I did, because it paid off,” Hirako said.
He said it wasn’t as busy last night due to the early morning hours.
Two of the four large fountain events have happened on holidays where more people were off or visiting Hawaii Island. The first large fountain event on Memorial Day, which coincided with graduation, brought thousands of people to the park leaving people waiting hours to get in and find parking.
USGS says visitors have planned their entire trip based on their forecasts.
“They’ve been very short lived [episodes] maybe 10 hours or less,” explained Jessica Ferracane, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokesperson. “You can’t predict down to the minute when they’re going to start, of course, because volcanoes are so dynamic and ever-changing.”
And there is no sign of slowing down.
“As soon as lava flows and fountains stopped, then it immediately started inflating again that tells us the magma chambers is recharging and rebuilding pressure again and it will start building to episode 27 now,” Phillips said.
The Volcano House is nearly booked through late July. The park’s spokesperson says campgrounds and cabins are also busy and with large crowds coming out, they are reminding visitors of the construction happening around the park.
“There’s a detour to one-lane because we’re building a roundabout at the park entrance,” Ferracane explained, and said the speed limit is 5 mph in the area.
The visitor center will not re-open until next summer.
With the large crowds, park staff is reminding people to keep an eye on children, stay away from cliff edges and out of closed areas.
And the best views are anywhere near the caldera rim.
“If you are in a wheelchair you might want to go somewhere accessible like Kūpinaʻi Pali also known as Waldron’s ledge that’s kind of by volcano house,” Ferracane added. “If you really want to hear the roar of the fountains and feel the heat when they’re exceeding 500 feet, then you want to go to Uēkahuna, this is where Jagger Museum used to be.”