K ilauea Volcano has started erupting again — just four months after the last eruption ended. A five-month eruption at Halemaumau Crater had completely stopped in May, but just few months later the Hawaiian Volcano Observa- tory reported that another had begun. The eruption started Wednesday afternoon and was flowing at a “pretty high effu- sion rate,” according to Ken Hon, the scientist-in-charge at HVO, who estimated lava “fountains that are 50-100 feet high.” “Wow — that’s a lot. There’s already 10 meters of lava in the crater as of 5:30 (p.m.),” Hon told the Hono- lulu Star-Advertiser. HVO first detected lava glowing at Kilauea’s summit just two hours prior. “Kilauea volcano is erupting. At approximately 3:20 p.m. HST on September 29, 2021, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) detected glow in Kilauea summit web- cam images indicating that an eruption has commenced within Halemaumau crater in Kilauea’s summit caldera, within Hawai‘i Volcanoes Na- tional Park. Webcam imagery shows fissures at the base of Halema‘uma‘u crater generat- ing lava flows on the surface of the lava lake that was active until May 2021,” it said in an advisory. As of Wednesday evening, lava was flowing from two fis- sures — one on the floor of Halemaumau Crater and one on its western wall. Each of the fissures has numerous vents from which magma is flowing. “This one is pretty active. It may be a little less active than the one that started last De- cember, but it’s still a good- sized eruption,” Hon said. John Tarson, owner of Epic Lava, an eco tour company, lives in the Volcano golf course subdivision, and immediately headed to the summit after the eruption started. “I live across the street, so I heard instantly,” he said. Tarson went live on Face- book, recording the event early on. He spoke to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by phone at sunset Wednesday and de- scribed what he was seeing and hearing. By Mark Ladao and Leila Fujimori mladao@staradvertiser.com lfujimori@staradvertiser.com PHOTOS COURTESY HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Webcam imagery from the Hawaiian Volcano Observa- tory shows a new eruption within Kilauea’s Halemaumau Crater on Wednesday. At approximately 3:20 p.m., new fi ssures opened at the base of the crater, generating lava fl ows on the surface. Please see KILAUEA, A6
