Hawaii’s Kilauea recently erupted with fountains as tall as the Empire State Building

Kilauea fired off its 43rd episode

Kilauea volcano erupted again on Tuesday, March 10, sending lava fountains more than 1,300 feet into the sky from its summit crater.

The eruption, episode 43 of an ongoing cycle that started in December 2024, began at 9:17 a.m. Hawaii time when two vents inside Halemaumau crater opened up.

The blast closed a major highway, shut down Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and cancelled flights at Hilo’s airport. It lasted about nine hours.

Lava fountains rivaled a skyscraper

The twin fountains hit peak heights above 1,300 feet, roughly as tall as the Empire State Building’s top floor.

By late morning, the eruption plume climbed past 30,000 feet above sea level. Around 10:30 a.m., lava poured out at about 1,000 cubic yards per second.

Thousands of people tuned in to watch it happen live on a USGS webcam stream, making it one of the most-watched volcanic events in recent memory.

USGS raised the alert to its highest level

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory bumped the volcano alert from Watch to Warning, meaning a dangerous eruption was actively threatening people on the ground and in the air.

The aviation color code jumped from Orange to Red, signaling serious risk to aircraft. The National Weather Service followed with an ashfall warning covering the national park and surrounding areas.

For anyone nearby, the message was clear: stay alert and stay indoors.

Football-sized debris rained on the park

The eruption launched volcanic debris called tephra, a mix of ash, pumice, and glassy strands known as Pele’s hair.

Some chunks landed as large as footballs at overlooks inside the park. The Uekahuna overlook got buried under four to seven inches of debris.

Kilauea Military Camp, also inside the park, caught about two inches of tephra with pieces up to five inches across. The fallout turned the summit area into a hazard zone.

Communities north of the park took hits

The Volcano Golf Course community, just north of the park, got the worst of it among residential areas, with debris pieces up to six inches wide.

Lava itself stayed inside the crater and never threatened homes directly. The real danger came from airborne tephra and volcanic gases.

Fine ash and strands of Pele’s hair drifted as far as Hilo, about 30 miles away. Tephra can irritate skin, eyes, and lungs, and clog the water catchment systems many Big Island homes rely on.

Highway 11 shut down for 16 miles

Hawaii County Civil Defense closed Highway 11 between mile markers 24 and 40 on both sides of the national park, cutting off a 16-mile stretch of one of the island’s main routes.

Park rangers rushed to evacuate visitors from the summit area. Guests staying at Volcano House and Kilauea Military Camp could remain but had to shelter in place.

The county opened an emergency shelter at Kau District Gym in Pahala for anyone displaced by the closures or falling debris.

Airlines cancelled flights out of Hilo

Hawaiian Airlines cancelled five round-trip flights between Honolulu and Hilo and rerouted two others to Kona because of volcanic ash.

Southwest Airlines also cancelled at least two Hilo-bound flights. Hilo International Airport stayed open, but airlines told travelers to check their flight status before heading out.

The disruptions showed how quickly an eruption confined to the summit crater can ripple into major travel headaches when wind pushes ash toward populated areas.

Schools and pools closed for cleanup

All three campuses of Volcano School of Arts and Sciences shut down on Wednesday, March 11, so crews could clear tephra from the grounds.

Public swimming pools in Hilo and Pahoa also closed until workers could remove volcanic material from the water.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation brought in heavy equipment to scrape ash and debris off Highway 11, while national park staff used machines and hand tools to clear volcanic rock and glass from summit roads and walkways.

Tephra sounds harmless but causes real problems

Tephra is the catch-all name for the small volcanic fragments that lava fountains launch into the air, including ash, pumice, and lightweight glass strands.

Lighter pieces like Pele’s hair can travel dozens of miles on the wind, while heavier chunks drop closer to the vents. The material can trigger breathing problems, especially for people with asthma.

It also scratches windshields, damages vehicle paint, and contaminates the household water catchment systems that many Big Island residents depend on.

The eruption stopped cold after nine hours

Lava fountaining cut off abruptly at 6:21 p.m. Hawaii time on March 10. The episode ran nine hours and four minutes, with both vents active for most of that stretch.

The USGS estimates the eruption produced about 16 million cubic yards of lava, covering roughly half of Halemaumau crater’s floor.

Across all 43 episodes since December 2024, Kilauea has now put out close to 325 million cubic yards of lava total.

The park and highway reopened Wednesday

Highway 11 opened to both lanes of traffic by Wednesday morning, and the park entrance and Crater Rim Drive West followed. But the Uekahuna overlook and its parking lot remain closed, buried under up to a foot of tephra.

Visitors should expect more temporary closures as cleanup crews work through the debris. The USGS webcam at the overlook, knocked over by falling tephra during the eruption, is still waiting on repairs.

Next eruption expected by mid-April

The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the next fountaining episode will likely hit between late March and the first half of April.

The pauses between episodes have ranged from several days to more than two weeks since the eruption cycle began. Scientists have not detected any changes along Kilauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Anyone planning a Big Island trip should keep an eye on USGS updates, since eruptions can trigger sudden highway closures, park shutdowns, and flight cancellations with little warning.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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