(ABOVE VIDEO) The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam stationed at Pahoa Marketplace looking mauka shows wispy smoke on the flow field Sunday morning.

NEWS BRIEFS

• The lava flow front is again active but sluggish and is advancing very slowly (10 yards since yesterday afternoon.) It has gotten a little wider, now measured at 30 yards wide. The flow is 690 yards from the Pahoa Market Place complex. The flow remains active behind the front in several areas.

PRIMARY SOURCES

This morning’s assessment shows that the flow front remains active however very sluggish and has advanced approximately 10 yards since yesterday afternoon. Some widening was noted and the front is approximately 30 yards wide at this time. The front or leading edge remains .6 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection and approximately 690 yards from the Pahoa Market Place complex. 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 and combined VOG conditions were moderate this morning with light variable winds causing the smoke and VOG to settle across the entire eastern areas from Puna through Hilo. Smoke and VOG 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 remains opened 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. 28 at 7:45 p.m. HST

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone. According to Civil Defense the front of the lava flow closest to Pāhoa advanced 9 m (10 yards) since yesterday afternoon. The flow continues to have surface breakouts behind the flow front as of this morning according to HVO webcams and Civil Defense.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: Civil Defense reported this morning that the leading tip of the active flow advanced 9 m (10 yards) and widened to approximately 27 m (30 yards) since yesterday afternoon. The flow front is now 630 m (0.4 miles or 690 yards) from the Pāhoa Marketplace and 960 m (0.6 miles or 1050 yards) from the intersection of Highway 130 and Pāhoa Village Road. 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: Inflationary tilt began in Kīlauea’s summit at about 5:00 PM HST yesterday evening. 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. 28 at 8:16 a.m. HST