Lava again flowing — and fountaining — at Kīlauea summit after 6-day pause in activity

Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island roared back into action the night of Feb. 3 after a 6-day pause in eruptive activity, with lava fountains reaching more than 250 feet high within the first hour of the newest eruptive activity inside Kaluapele, the volcano’s summit caldera.

Episode 8 of the ongoing eruption in the southwest portion of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater began at 9:52 p.m. Monday and continued to fountain Tuesday morning from the north vent, albeit at what looked to be reduced heights from livestream images.

Lava also continued to flow onto the crater floor.

The vent is one of two that opened since the eruption began Dec. 23, 2024, and has been the most active.

This new episode was preceded by small, sporadic spatter fountains that began the evening of Feb. 2.

Intensity of the spatter fountains increased Monday afternoon accompanied by an uptick in seismic tremor and a switch from inflation to deflation at the volcano’s summit. Sustained fountaining was underway by 9:52 p.m.

Fountains grew from about 50 feet to more than 250 feet high by 10:50 p.m., feeding multiple lava streams.

Active lava flows had covered about 15% to 20% of the crater floor by then, which is when Hawaiian Volcano Observatory issued its notification about the new eruptive episode’s beginning.

The eruption is happening within a closed area of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, so high levels of volcanic gas — primarily water vapor, carbon dioxide and especially sulfur dioxide — are the main hazard of concern, as they can have far-reaching effects downwind.

As sulfur dioxide is continuously released from the summit, it reacts in the atmosphere to create the visible haze known as vog, or volcanic smog, downwind from Kīlauea.

Additional hazards include Pele’s hair and other volcanic fragments from lava fountains that can fall downwind from the eruptive vents.

Kīlauea’s volcano alert level remains at watch and its aviation color code at orange.

Each episode of lava fountaining throughout the volcano’s sixth summit eruption since 2020 has continued for at least 13 hours and up to 8 days. They have been separated by pauses lasting from less than 24 hours to 12 days.

No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to closely monitor Kīlauea.