‘Mind blowing’: Visitors marvel at Kilauea’s fiery eruption

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK (HawaiiNewsNow) - After a couple pauses and over a day of low level lava flows, the Kilauea eruption has roared back to life.

Red and orange fountains lit up the night sky until the sun rose Sunday morning.

Visitors at the Hawaii Volcano House enjoyed breakfast with a show.

“I’ve been here a lot of times but I’ve never seen anything quite this dramatic,” said Chloe Teil, who’s visiting from California.

The Teil family is visiting from San Jose.

Before they left California, they knew that Kilauea was erupting, but with the pauses they were skeptical that the timing would work out.

“Honestly, yesterday before we arrived the volcano had stopped erupting so we were just hoping that it was going to keep erupting and we’re lucky enough that it kept going and we were able to see it,” she said.

And while the Teil’s have visited Hawaii a countless number of times, this particular trip will forever be etched in their memory.

“We’re happy to have my mom with us so to have three generations and to have those special memories is pretty amazing,” Chloe Teil added.

Down at the viewing areas, visitors are snapping pictures and sharing them on social media to show their family back home.

“It’s kind of mind blowing to see it in person,” said Dave Stevens, who’s visiting from Indiana. “It’s been pretty cool to see, we didn’t think you’d be able to see the eruptions, we got lucky with our timing, so it’s been awesome to see.”

Officials said some of the lava fountains have reached upwards of 45 feet high.

At the summit of Kilauea, officials said the eruption, which began back on Monday, is now in its third phase.

Activity did pause on Monday and Wednesday before firing up again later.

This is the 6th eruption inside Kilauea’s caldera since 2020. In the past, they have ranged in duration from about a week to over a year.

Officials said all lava activity remains confined to the caldera.

Park officials are urging visitors to stay on trails, stay out of closed areas and keep children close at all times.

This warning comes as a toddler nearly plunged off a 400 foot cliff on Thursday after running away from his family. Luckily, his mother was able to grab him before he fell.

“You can see those fountains those are about 250 feet all along the rim here you’re talking about a 400-500 foot drop, there’s earth cracks, dangerous edges, so stay away from the edge, and please have a headlamp if you’re coming after dark,” said Jessica Ferracane, public affairs specialist for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Experts also warn that those down wind of the volcano who have difficulty breathing may want to stay inside as vog levels remain higher than normal.

Furthermore, piles of volcanic debris known as tephra shot out from the lava fountains and was carried downwind.

The fragments have accumulated on Crater Rim Drive in a closed section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The area has been off limits for years due to Kilauea’s unpredictable summit eruptions.

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