A Hawaii volcano is erupting — and thousands are flocking to watch it, park rangers say

Thousands of tourists are flocking to a Hawaii volcano to watch it erupt, park rangers said.

A new eruption on the summit of the Kīlauea volcano started Thursday, and it’s drawing visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. They want to see the gas plume, steam and the lava glow during the night, park rangers said.

“Viewing lava at the summit of Kīlauea is awe-inspiring,” Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh said in a news release. “We want to keep the park open for all to experience this new phase of volcanic activity, but we can only do so if visitors follow guidelines that keep everyone safe.”

The eruption started shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday, according to U.S. Geological Survey geologists. It could change at any time, park rangers said.

The cooling lava lake at Kīlauea’s summit quickly became a fiery eruption, USGS said.

“A line of low lava fountains is erupting from the crater floor, tephra is falling downwind, and a new fissure opened up,” geologists said. Tephra is fragments of rock from the eruption.

In August, a swarm of more than 140 earthquakes shook the ground beneath the Kīlauea volcano. Geologists said the volcano showed “heightened or escalating unrest,” and there was potential for an eruption to start.

It never came, but the swarm changed the ground deformation near Kilauea’s summit, geologists said. That could’ve indicated there was shallow movement of lava under the volcano.

Kīlauea is the youngest volcano on the Island of Hawaii, according to USGS.

“Topographically Kīlauea appears as only a bulge on the southeastern flank of Mauna Loa, and so for many years Kīlauea was thought to be a mere satellite of its giant neighbor, not a separate volcano,” USGS said. “However, research over the past few decades shows clearly that Kīlauea has its own magma-plumbing system.”

The volcano has erupted 34 times since 1952, according to USGS. From 1983 to 2018, the activity was “nearly continuous.”

National park officials are encouraging people who go see the eruption to maintain 6 feet of distance from others and wear a face mask to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Tourists are also encouraged to stay on marked trails and overlooks only.

“Hazardous volcanic gases are billowing out the crater and present a danger to everyone, especially people with heart or respiratory problems, infants, young children and pregnant women,” park rangers said.

This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 11:09 AM with the headline "A Hawaii volcano is erupting — and thousands are flocking to watch it, park rangers say."