We got up early to be on the first tender because our friend, Karen, who lives on the Kona Coast of the Island of Hawaii offered to take us on an excursion and we had limited time in port.  We have been to the big island before, but we have never seen Mt. Kilauea during an eruption.  We have seen steam vents and felt the warm mist on our faces but… 

According to the USGS’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory (HVO).

“Kīlauea has been erupting episodically since December 23, 2024, primarily from two vents (north and south) in Halema‘uma‘u. Eruptive episodes, which generally last for less than 12 hours, are separated by pauses that can be as long as over two weeks.”

We didn’t know if we would see the red lava spouting but we thought we would see something.  As we drove the Saddle Road from the Kona side to Hilo a large plume of gas and ash rose to the southeast.

At Hilo we joined a steady stream of traffic.  Karen said “these are locals, not rental cars.”  It was bumper to bumper to the National Park gate and the rangers waved us in, not looking at passes or collecting fees.  The parking lots were full, but the McClear parking karma held, and we got a place close to the edge of the caldera of the Halema‘uma‘u crater. 

The 40^th eruption episode had started and, in the Hawaiian style, people run toward the volcano rather than away from it.

“…the morning of January 12… marked the start of episode 40 at 8:22 a.m. HST, when north vent fountains reached about 100 feet (30 meters) high. North vent fountain heights peaked at 800 feet (250 meters) high just before 10 a.m. With weak winds, the eruptive plume… rose vertically to over 13,000 feet (4000 meters) above ground level… Large whirlwinds or “puahiohio” also occurred during episode 40… Episode 40 lava fountaining from the north vent stopped at approximately 7:04 p.m. HST on January 12 after 9.7 hours of sustained fountaining…” (HVO Website)

We were back on the ship when it ended but Karen sent us a video someone posted of the end, the fountain sputtering out following by cheers and applause. And when it was over what did it end up pouring from the earth?

 The highest peak or instantaneous effusion rate of 460 cubic yards (350 cubic meters) per second occurred around noon on January 12. Episode 40 ended with an average effusion rate of 250 cubic yards per second (190 cubic meters per second). An estimated 7.1 million cubic yards (5.5 million cubic meters) of lava erupted and covered about 50–60% of Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor.” (HVO Website)

At 8 AM when we got on the tender and when Karen left home it was not erupting, we got there at the peak.  We walked on a trail near the rim of the crater, about 3 miles from the fountain of fire.  All around the rim vents were pouring out warm, damp steam, more than other times we have been here.  The sound of the fountain was like the roar of a jet engine, or, as one bystander put it, like Niagara.  But it was a fire fall, not a waterfall.

Photographing was a challenge.  Using the zoom the interspersal of red lava coming up and black lava coming down made it look pixelated.  Much of the time I was shooting through steam. 

After we left the crater we visited the temporary visitors’ center (the main one is having an addition added) at the military R&R camp.  It has a beautiful stained glass window mirroring the fountain we saw.

Below are videos I took of the eruption.  If you receive this by email they may not play but you can click on my blog link to watch them.

On the drive back (There will be a separate post on the drive) I asked Karen how the Big Island generated electricity.  I had seen a lot of solar panels.  She said it was mostly fossil fuel generators.  I asked her why they didn’t use geothermal.  We had just seen a pretty convincing demonstration of its power.  She said that many Hawaiians objected to tapping geothermal because it would be disrespectful to Pele, (the goddess of volcanos, fire, lightning and creation, who destroys in order to create new earth.)

The big island has one geothermal plant Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV).  It generates about 19% of the island’s electricity and they want to expand it to be able to take on 26% but it is controversial because many Hawaiians say it is disrespectful to Pele.  Tapping into the earth’s heat harms the “sacred embodiment of the deity.”  There have been demonstrations against the plant and others proposed since they were first planned. 

There is a second reason for the protests.  The process of extracting heat can emit sulfur dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere.   Last May I wrote in a blogpost about the powerplant that generates the outflow that feeds the Blue Lagoon, Iceland’s biggest tourist attraction:

“…there is no free lunch.  A study by the Icelandic health care system showed higher medical costs for people living around the power stations near the Blue Lagoon…  The plants were emitting sulfur dioxide which becomes sulfuric acid. This can trigger asthma and other raspatory and cardiovascular problems.  The plants now try to dilute the sulfur dioxide with water in the cooling towers but there is fear that this is not good enough, so they are looking at ways to reinject the SO₂ back into the wells.”