Noisy Hawaiian volcano lava fissure prompts more evacuations

By Caleb Jones Associated Press

Monday, May 14, 2018 12:45 AM

PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) A new fissure in Hawaii's Puna District sent gases and lava exploding into the air, spurring officials to call for more evacuations as residents waited for a possible major eruption at Kilauea volcano's summit.

Hawaii County Civil Defense issued an emergency cellphone alert after the fissure was discovered early Sunday morning. The agency said one "unidentified structure" was destroyed by the new vent, bringing the total number of homes and other buildings lost to the lava to nearly 40.

Residents in the immediate area were told to evacuate, and two nearby community centers were serving as shelters for people and pets.

Lava spread across hundreds of yards of private land and loud explosions rocked the neighborhood not far from Leilani Estates subdivision, where more than a dozen other active vents have opened in the past week.

Nearby resident Richard Schott, 34, sat near a police checkpoint and watched as the eruption churned just over a ridgeline and behind some trees.

"I've actually seen rocks fly over the tree line and I can feel it in my body," Schott said. "It's like a nuclear reaction or something."

The new opening was still showing signs of activity Sunday afternoon. The fissure measures about 1,000 feet (300 meters) long, officials said.

The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said new fissures, ground deformation and abundant volcanic gases indicate eruptions on the eastern flank of Kilauea are likely to continue.

"The appearance of the fissures in the past couple of days does not change the overall picture or concern," USGS scientist Steve Brantley said.

Christian and Maritza Ricks, who moved to the area from California in April, stopped on the side of the road to watch and listen to the latest eruption.

"I guess it's just part of living on the island," Ricks said.

He said he wasn't really afraid of the destruction happening around him. "In a way it's kind of exciting to see what's going on and be this close to it."

Most of the lava outbreaks have occurred in and around the Leilani Estates neighborhood, where molten rock has burst through the ground, destroying more than two dozen homes and resulting in evacuation orders for nearly 2,000 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey has reported nearly 20 active fissures. One that opened Saturday night was spattering, but no flow had formed.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the fissures opened just east of the Puna Geothermal Venture energy conversion plant, where steam and hot liquid are brought up through underground wells and the steam feeds a turbine generator to produce electricity. Plant workers last week as a precaution removed 50,000 gallons (189,265 liters) of a flammable gas stored at the site.

Geologists warn that Kilauea's summit could have an explosive steam eruption that would hurl huge rocks and ash miles into the sky.

Noisy Hawaiian volcano lava fissure prompts more evacuations

Gases rise from lava fissure 17 after it erupted early Sunday, May 13 2018 near Pahoa, Hawaii. The new fissure emitting steam and lava spatter spurred Hawaii officials to call for more evacuations on Sunday as residents braced for an expected eruption from the Kilauea volcano. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

The Associated Press

This Sunday, May 13, 2018, image released by the U.S. Geological Survey, shows the Kilauea Caldera at 9:30 a.m. HST, taken with a research camera mounted in the observation tower at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in the Big Island of Hawaii. The camera is looking SSE towards the active vent in Halema?uma?u, 1.9 km (1.2 miles) from the webcam. For scale, Halema?uma?u is approximately 1 km (0.6 mi) across and about 85 m (~280 ft) deep. A new fissure emitting steam and lava spatter spurred Hawaii officials to call for more evacuations on Sunday as residents braced for an expected eruption from the Kilauea volcano. Geologists warn that Kilauea's summit could have an explosive steam eruption that would hurl rocks and ash miles into the sky. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)

The Associated Press

Officials fly over lava fissure 17 after it erupted early Sunday, May 13 2018 near Pahoa, Hawaii. The new fissure emitting steam and lava spatter spurred Hawaii officials to call for more evacuations on Sunday as residents braced for an expected eruption from the Kilauea volcano. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

The Associated Press

A police office blocks a road near lava fissure 17 after it erupted early Sunday, May 13 2018 near Pahoa, Hawaii. The new fissure emitting steam and lava spatter spurred Hawaii officials to call for more evacuations on Sunday as residents braced for an expected eruption from the Kilauea volcano. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 5, 2018, file photo, Leilani Estates resident Sam Knox watches the lava stretch across the road in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaiis Kilauea volcano has spewed lava into the air, destroyed homes, forced residents into shelters, and agitated an otherwise cheerful, small community where everyone is a neighbor. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 9, 2018, file photo, visitors take pictures as Kilauea's summit crater glows red in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. The lava hisses, crackles and pops. It roars like an engine as it sloshes and bubbles. It shoots into the sky, bright orange and full of danger, or oozes along the pavement, a giant bubbling blob of black marshmallow-like fluff, crushing homes and making roads impassable. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 11, 2018 file photo, Hannique Ruder, a 65-year-old resident living in the Leilani Estates subdivision, stands on the mound of hardened lava near Pahoa, Hawaii. The lava hisses, crackles and pops. It roars like an engine as it sloshes and bubbles. It shoots into the sky, bright orange and full of danger, or oozes along the pavement, a giant bubbling blob of black marshmallow-like fluff, crushing homes and making roads impassable. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Associated Press

File - This May 7, 2018, file photo from the U.S. Geological Survey shows gas and steam rising from multiple fissures on Moku Street in the Leilani Estates Subdivision near Pahoa on the island of Hawaii. The lava hisses, crackles and pops. It roars like an engine as it sloshes and bubbles. It shoots into the sky, bright orange and full of danger, or oozes along the pavement, a giant bubbling blob of black marshmallow-like fluff, crushing homes and making roads impassable. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 10, 2018 file photo visitors view Kilauea's summit crater outside the Jaggar Museum in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. Kilauea has long towered over this corner of the Big Island, and is a source of pride, awe and inspiration, but also fear. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 5, 2018, file photo, lava burns across a road in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii. The lava hisses, crackles and pops. It roars like an engine as it sloshes and bubbles. It shoots into the sky, bright orange and full of danger, or oozes along the pavement, a giant bubbling blob of black marshmallow-like fluff, crushing homes and making roads impassable. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 4, 2018, file frame from video, lava flows over a road in the Puna District as a result of the eruption from Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. The lava hisses, crackles and pops. It roars like an engine as it sloshes and bubbles. It shoots into the sky, bright orange and full of danger, or oozes along the pavement, a giant bubbling blob of black marshmallow-like fluff, crushing homes and making roads impassable. (Byron Matthews via AP, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 10, 2018, file photo, Sgt. 1st Class Carl Satterwaite, of the U.S. National Guard, tests air quality near cracks emitting volcanic gases from a lava flow in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii. The lava hisses, crackles and pops. It roars like an engine as it sloshes and bubbles. It shoots into the sky, bright orange and full of danger, or oozes along the pavement, a giant bubbling blob of black marshmallow-like fluff, crushing homes and making roads impassable. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Associated Press

File - In this May 8, 2018, file photo, evacuee Nina Bersamina, an elementary school teacher, stands next to her SUV loaded with her belongings while waiting to pick up some food at a makeshift donation center in Pahoa, Hawaii. "It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking because this is our home," said Bersamina. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

The Associated Press