Its 2018 eruption spewed lava into the large Leilani Estates neighborhood, swallowing more than 700 homes and surrounding others with thick layers of volcanic rock, creating unreachable patches of green foliage in a sea of blackened destruction.ĭorothy Thrall can still walk to the spot where her community once stood, now blanketed with hardened lava. But the history of this volcano is painful for Hawaii’s Big Island. Just 21 miles east of Mauna Loa, Kilauea’s ongoing eruption is now confined to a lake of lava rippling at its summit. And though it poses no risk now to surrounding communities, Mauna Loa’s rare simultaneous eruption has rekindled memories of the pain and destruction Kilauea wrought four years ago, when it wiped out hundreds of homes and dozens of miles of road. Kilauea began erupting again in 2021 and hasn’t stopped. CNNĪlso erupting now is nearby Kilauea, whose monthslong eruption in 2018 was one of the most destructive in recent Hawaii history, the USGS says. Lava spews Sunday from a fissure on Mauna Loa, where heat rises and a sulfuric smell wafts a quarter-mile into the air. Mauna Loa’s eruption has attracted waves of awestruck visitors, some making the pilgrimage in the middle of the night to avoid the crowds, bundled in jackets and hats to protect against the chilly night air. The National Guard members will “assist Hawai’i County with traffic control and other roles in the Mauna Loa eruption,” according to the statement. Hawaii’s Defense Department activated 20 members of the state’s National Guard Monday as a result of the lava flow from Mauna Loa, a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency statement said. If it closes, residents’ commutes could grow by hours as they seek alternate routes, creating “a tremendous inconvenience,” Hawaii Gov.

“We don’t know how long this eruption is going to last, and that will dictate whether or not the highway becomes more threatened.” But it is advancing every day,” said Natalia Deligne, a volcanologist with the USGS at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. But at this stage, it’s still about 2.3 miles away from the highway. “If the eruption continues, it might cover the highway. “Though the advance rate has slowed over the past several days, the lava flow remains active with a continuous supply from the fissure 3 vent,” the release said.Īdvance rates of the lava may be “highly variable” in the coming days and weeks with individual lobes advancing quickly and then stalling, the release said. The lava is flowing at an average rate of 25 feet per hour, the agency said Monday. Inouye Highway, a major artery that remains open, connecting two sides of this island, according to the US Geological Survey. Though no communities are at risk, the lava flow is inching closer to the Daniel K. Once a quick-moving stream, the flow has slowed significantly as it reaches more softly sloping inclines. In the week since Mauna Loa erupted, the stream of lava has coursed northeast, away from the volcano’s summit. Why Hawaii probably won't stop lava from Mauna Loa from reaching the highway Lava fountains and flows illuminate the area during the Mauna Loa volcano eruption in Hawaii, U.S.

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