(ABOVE VIDEO) USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory webcam image taken from a research camera positioned on Puʻu ʻŌʻō, looking north on Jan. 16 at 9:40 a.m. HST

NEWS BRIEFS

• The leading downslope breakout advanced 50 yards since yesterday morning and is widening. The front of this breakout is .6 miles from the area of Highway 130 to the west or mauka of the Pahoa Police and Fire Stations.
• The original flow front remains stalled half a mile from Highway 130.
• The brush fires that occurred yesterday are contained and additional work is being done to improve surrounding fire breaks. With the ongoing dry weather conditions, civil defense says brush fire activity related to the lava flow is likely to continue.
• Two breakouts 1 to 1.5 miles further upslope from the front remain active and a more thorough assessment will be performed later today, civil defense says. The lobe has entered a drainage area leading to the steepest-descent path that crosses Highway 130 about .6 miles south of the Makuʻu Farmer’s Market.
• Heavy smoke and vog continues. A southwest wind was again blowing the smoke in a northeast direction over the areas of lower Puna through Hilo.

AUDIO ALERT

PRIMARY SOURCES

Today’s helicopter over flight and assessment will be delayed. This morning’s ground assessments show that the original flow front and south margin breakout remain stalled. The breakout along the north side of the flow remains active and had advanced down slope to an area near the stalled front. This current active down slope breakout has advanced approximately 50 yards since yesterday and is widening. The leading edge or front of this breakout is located .6 miles from the area of Highway 130 to the west or mauka of the Pahoa Police and Fire Stations. Two other breakouts along the north margin approximately 1-1.5 miles further upslope or behind the flow front remain active and a more thorough assessment will be performed later today. The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are maintaining close observations of the flow. All current activity does not pose a threat to area communities and residents and businesses down slope will be informed of any changes in flow activity and advancement.

With the ongoing dry weather conditions, brush fire activity related to the lava flow is likely to continue. Hawaii Fire Department personnel and equipment are on scene and monitoring the fire conditions. The fires that occurred yesterday are contained with the fire break perimeters and additional work is being done to improve fire break conditions. There is currently no fire threat to area residents and properties.

Smoke and vog conditions were heavy with a southwest wind blowing the smoke in a northeast direction over the areas of lower Puna through Hilo. Smoke conditions may increase in some areas and individuals who may be sensitive or have respiratory problems are advised to take necessary precautions and to remain indoors.

Additional updates will be broadcast as conditions change.

On behalf of the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency and our partners we would like to thank everyone for your assistance and cooperation.

This is your Hawaii County Civil Defense Hawaii County Civil Defense on Jan. 16 at 7:45 a.m. HST

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone. In the East Rift Zone, the tip of the June 27th lava flow remained stalled, but breakouts up slope of the front continued to advance down slope. One of these breakouts advanced about 45 m (50 yd) since yesterday morning and is near the former, stalled front according to a Civil Defense assessment this morning.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: The flow that advanced toward Pahoa Marketplace in past weeks remained stalled approximately 800 m (0.5 miles or 880 yards) from the intersection of Highway 130 and Pāhoa Village Road, however, several breakouts are active advancing downslope. The lobe that recently broke out about 700 m (765 yd) upslope of the stalled tip had advanced about 350 m (380 yd) from January 13th to January 15th, and another 45 m (50 yd) from the 15th to the morning, according Civil Defense.

On Tuesday’s overflight, HVO scientists observed additional breakouts scattered from 1.7 to 3 km upslope of the flow tip, and the long, narrow lobe moving north-northeast in this area was active. This lobe had advanced about 45 m/day (50 yd/day) during the previous week. It is in a drainage area leading to the steepest-descent path that crosses Highway 130 about 1 km (0.6 mi) south of the Makuʻu Farmer’s Market. Views of this flow have recently been obscured by smoke from brush fires sparked by the lava flow, but on Tuesday, it was still about 3.3 km (2.1 mi) from Highway 130 and moving slowly.

Small breakouts were also active in an area of persistent activity in the crack system near the True/Mid-Pacific geothermal well pad about 7 km (4 mi) upslope from Pāhoa. A camera on the north rim of Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone recorded another breakout close to, and north-northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō that started early yesterday morning. This is in an area where there were persistent breakouts during December 2014 through early January 2015

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: Since yesterday morning, the tiltmeter on the north flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone continued to record the very weak inflation that has been observed over the past 6+ days, however, that may have stopped early this morning. All other monitoring data indicated no significant changes at Puʻu ʻŌʻō, except for the breakout near the north flank of the cone. The most recent measurement of sulfur dioxide emissions from all East Rift Zone vents was about 200 tonnes per day on January 7.

Summit Observations: No significant net tilt was recorded at the summit since yesterday morning. The summit lava lake displayed minor lava level 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 emission rate of sulfur dioxide ranged from around 4,500 to 7,600 tonnes/day during the week ending January 13.USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Jan. 16 at 9:16 a.m. HST