NEWS BRIEFS

• There continues to be no advancement of the lava flow front. The inactive distal tip remains roughly 550 yards from Highway 130 in the area west of the Pāhoa Fire and Police Stations. The flow has not advanced downslope for the past several weeks, but many breakouts remain active upslope.
• A breakout on the south margin advanced 40 yards since yesterday morning. The narrow breakout is about 600 yards upslope of the stalled flow front.
• Smoke conditions were light to moderate with a light northwest wind blowing the smoke in a southeast direction.

LATEST MAP

Satellite image of area around front of Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone lava flow (Feb. 14)

INSIGHT

“There is still surface lava activity behind the tip,” wrote videographer Mick Kalber after his Monday overflight with Paradise Helicopters. “A small breakout about 100 yards behind the distal tip was only smoking this morning. But the breakout on the southeast side of the stalled out Pahoa Marketplace flow has re-activated. It is flowing toward Apaa Street and advanced about 40 yards since yesterday. There are also breakouts on the surface of that lobe, a hundred yards or so behind the tip of that lobe. There was as much vog over East Hawaii this morning as we have ever seen, an almost constant condition for the past several months.”

PRIMARY SOURCES

This morning’s assessment continues to show no change with of any of the down slope flow areas. Surface breakouts and breakouts along both margins upslope of the flow front continue and provide indication that the tube system continues to be supplied and lava from the source is making its way to the down slope areas. The small breakout along the south margin of the flow approximately 600 yards upslope and behind the stalled front has advanced approximately 40 yards since yesterday morning. All current activity does not pose an immediate threat to area communities. The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are maintaining close observations of the flow. Residents and businesses down slope will be informed of any changes in flow activity and advancement.

Smoke conditions were light to moderate with a light northwest wind blowing the smoke in a southeast direction. 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. All burning activity was limited to vegetation burning along the edges of the breakouts and fire conditions will be monitored closely.

The Pahoa Community Informational meetings planned for Thursday evenings will be suspended until further notice. The suspension of these meetings is due to the decrease in advancement and limited change in flow activity as well as to allow for community members and our partner agencies to return to normal life and business activities. The eruption and flow will be monitored closely and daily assessments and updates will continue. The community will be kept informed of any changes in the eruption and flow. Anyone seeking information on the status of the flow can visit the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory websites or contact the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency at 935-0031. Hawaii County Civil Defense on Feb. 16 at 7:30 a.m. HST

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and from its East Rift Zone. The inactive distal tip of the June 27th lava flow remains roughly 500 m (~550 yd) from Highway 130 in the area west of the Pāhoa Fire and Police Stations. The flow has not advanced downslope for the past several weeks, but many breakouts remain active upslope. Tiltmeters located at the summit recorded deflationary tilt in the past 24 hours. There has been a minor increase in small earthquakes near the south portion of Kīlauea Caldera.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: Observers on a Civil Defense overflight this morning reported that the inactive flow tip remains stalled with scattered breakouts active upslope of the tip. They noted a small breakout roughly 600 yd upslope of the stalled tip that had advanced 40 yd in the past day. Webcam views over the past day showed continued activity at the breakout about 3 km (2 miles) northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō at the forest boundary, creating small brush fires. There were no clear webcam views of the breakout west of Kaohe Homesteads over the past day but a thermal satellite image from Saturday shows this breakout is relatively small.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: The tiltmeter on the north flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō showed no significant change over the past day. Webcam views show incandescence in the normal locations within the crater. Seismic tremor has remained low. The rate of sulfur dioxide emission from all East Rift Zone vents was about 200 tonnes per day, measured on January 7 (unfavorable wind conditions have prevented more recent measurements).

Summit Observations: Tiltmeters operating around the summit recorded deflationary tilt during the past 24 hours, following several days of inflationary tilt. The level of lava within the summit eruptive vent dropped slightly over the past day but remains roughly 40 m (130 ft) below the rim of the Overlook crater this morning. Emission rates of sulfur dioxide were measured at 3,700 tonnes/day on February 9. There has been a minor increase in small earthquakes near the south portion of Kīlauea Caldera, possibly related to the recent summit inflation. Seismic tremor at the summit remained low.USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Feb. 16 at 8:34 a.m. HST