‘Beautiful’: Thousands flock to summit to see Kilauea’s newest fiery show

VOLCANO (HawaiiNewsNow) - Kilauea volcano started erupting again at the summit crater Sunday, shooting out fountains of lava upwards between 60 to 100 feet after a lengthy period of elevated seismic activity.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially elevated the volcano’s alert level to warning on Sunday afternoon.

As of Monday morning, the volcano’s alert level has been lowered to watch following field evaluations.

“The style of eruption and fissure location have stabilized, the initial extremely high effusion rates have declined, and no infrastructure is threatened,” Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

Authorities said there was no current threat from the eruption to downslope communities.

The eruption started at 3:15 p.m. Sunday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported.

Lava was erupting along a dropped down block of the caldera and the edge of Halemaumau crater. But authorities stressed hazards were being assessed and that eruption was “dynamic.”

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“HVO will continue to monitor this activity closely and report any significant changes in future notices,” officials said, adding all activity was confined to Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park.

The line of fissures from the eruption stretch for about .8 miles along the crater’s floor.

Sunday’s eruption is the third so far this year for Kilauea and follows a weeks-long period of heightened seismic activity. The first eruption this year happened in January and that eruption ran through March. The second was in June.

Residents and visitors alike flocked to the spectacular sight as fountains of lava spewed from the summit crater. “We was in Kawaihae, we spent the day at the beach but we seen it on Instagram and thought we could come check it out tonight,” said Hilo resident John Carvalho.

“Last-minute plans but pretty beautiful here.”

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This story will be updated.

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