(BIVN) – Kīlauea is erupting, and its USGS Volcano Alert level remains at WATCH.

After two start and stop episodes at the summit caldera within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, the new Kīlauea eruption resumed again during the early evening of December 26.

Scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory confirmed summit inflation continued and the eruption resumed around 5:45 p.m. HST on Thursday evening.

Early in this latest episode, eruptive activity does not appear to be nearly as vigorous as in the previous two episodes.

From a Volcano Watch article released on Thursday evening:

The new eruption within Kaluapele (the summit caldera) began at approximately 2:20 a.m. HST on December 23, 2024. Lava fountains reached heights of nearly 300 feet (91 meters) and lava flows covered more than 650 acres (2.6 square kilometers) during two distinct eruptive episodes between December 23 and 25. Both episodes ended abruptly and were followed by the draining of molten lava back into eruptive vents, along with changes in summit tilt from deflation to inflation. The eruption resumed again during the early evening of December 26.

USGS: “Tephra ejected by the lava fountains between December 23 and 25, 2024, was carried in the gas plume and deposited on the nearby section of Crater Rim Drive that has been closed to the public for years due to intermittent Kīlauea summit eruptive activity.” (USGS photo by M. Patrick)

The National Park Service on Thursday reminded visitors to “stay on trail, stay out of closed areas and to keep their children close” inside the park.