(ABOVE VIDEO) USGS image looking west from a research camera temporarily positioned southeast of the Pāhoa Marketplace. Some smoke from the June 27th lava flow is visible.

NEWS BRIEFS

• The flow front remains stalled 0.6 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection
• Surface breakouts continue upslope. There is activity along both margins of the flow.

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 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. The front or leading edge remains approximately 0.6 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection. The 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.

Smoke conditions were light to moderate this morning with a light west wind blowing the smoke in an east/southeast direction through the Pahoa and lower Puna areas. Smoke conditions may increase in some areas and individuals that may be sensitive or have respiratory problems are advised to take necessary precautions and to remain indoors.

The Railroad Avenue alternate access road has been opened for use since 12:00 noon 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 thank everyone for your assistance and cooperation Hawaii County Civil Defense on Dec. 26 at 7:30 a.m. HST

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone. The front of the lava flow closest to Pāhoa 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.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: Civil Defense reported this morning that the leading 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. The flow remains active behind the front in several areas.

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: Tilt has been flat in Kīlauea’s summit since yesterday morning. Based on HVO webcams almost two hours of vigorous spattering was observed in the summit lava lake early this morning (3:16 – 5:06 AM HST). Through out the rest of the day the usual fluctuations associated with changes in spattering behavior were observed, which were 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 23.USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Dec. 26 at 8:30 a.m. HST