VIDEO: See the first moments of today’s eruption of Kilauea
This USGS video, taken by a Hawaiian Volcano Observatory camera on the northwest rim of the Kilauea volcano caldera, shows the opening phase of the today’s eruption as it began at 4:44 a.m.
A lava fountain bursts from a vent in the central part of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater crater floor, and lava floods the surrounding area.
The largest lava fountain is consistently about 50 feet high. During the early phase of the eruption, fountain bursts reached at least 200 feet high. Lava flows have inundated much of the crater floor (an area of approximately 370 acres).
The eruption at Kilauea’s summit is occurring within a closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
