(ABOVE PHOTO) This USGS webcam image looks west from a research camera temporarily positioned southeast of the Pāhoa Marketplace. The smoke in the distance is from the activity behind the stalled flow front.

NEWS BRIEFS

• The leading edge (northern lobe) of the flow front remains stalled approximately .6 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection. It has not moved forward since Monday.
• There is some activity on the flow’s southern lobe behind the leading edge. It has advanced 60 yards.

MEDIA

This morning’s Civil Defense message:

PRIMARY SOURCES

This morning’s assessment shows that the flow front remains stalled and there has been no advancement since 4:30p.m. Monday afternoon. The front or leading edge remains approximately .6 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection. Some surface breakouts and activity along both margins continues upslope of the front however current activity does not pose an immediate threat to area communities. Civil Defense and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory personnel are maintaining close observations of the flow. Residents and businesses down slope will be kept informed of any changes in flow activity, advancement, and status.

The Railroad Avenue alternate access road has been opened for use since 12:00noon this past Saturday December 20th. This is to allow for motorists to become familiar with the road and traffic flow. Motorists are advised to remain on the designated route and comply with the posted speed limit. Highway 130 remains open and there is no anticipated road closure at this time.

On behalf of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency and our partners we would like to wish everyone a very merry and safe Christmas and thank everyone for your assistance and cooperation. Hawaii County Civil Defense on Dec. 25 at 7:45 a.m. HST

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone. A lava flow front consisting of north and south lobes remains active. The front of the lava flow closest to Pāhoa Marketplace remains stalled about 0.6 miles (1.0 km) from the Pāhoa Marketplace. The flow continues to have surface breakouts behind the flow front as of this morning, according to Civil Defense and HVO webcams. Inflationary tilt in the summit began at approximately 3:30 PM on December 24 th.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: Civil Defense reported this morning that the leading (northern) tip of the active flow has not advanced and is currently about 0.6 miles (1.0 km) upslope from the intersection of Highway 130 and Pāhoa Village Rd. Mapping by HVO geologists on the ground yesterday indicates that flow activity is present behind the inactive front in several areas, including an advancement of 60 yards (55 m) on the flow front’s southern lobe.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: No significant change in ground tilt has been observed in the past 24 hours and tilt remains flat. All other monitoring data indicate no significant changes at Puʻu ʻŌʻō. The most recent measurement of sulfur dioxide emissions from the East Rift Zone was about 250 tonnes per day on December 19, 2014.

Summit Observations: Inflationary tilt has been recorded at Kīlauea’s summit since yesterday afternoon. The summit lava lake level was measured at a depth of 51 m below the rim of Overlook crater yesterday morning. The summit lava lake has shown the usual fluctuations associated with changes in spattering behavior, which are also manifested as variations in tremor amplitudes and gas release. Small amounts of particulate material were carried aloft by the plume. The average emission rate of sulfur dioxide ranged between 5,500 and 7,700 tonnes/day for the week ending on December 23USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Dec. 25 at 8:32 a.m. HST

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