# For volcano watchers - maybe you'll get lucky! {Kilauea may be erupting} **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2023, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665 "2023-09-05T20:52:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/681 "2026-09-23T05:51:29Z")
Had to check back with my first wife about it but we actually walked on the cauldron floor, smell of sulphur was overwhelming and we instinctively stayed clear of the steam vents which were clearly blistering hot. I recall visiting Volcano House then and seeing pics of the same cauldron filled to brim and near to lapping at VH. Distant memories but stayed with me. Visiting just before Lalanie Estates rifts opened and destroyed them a month later ( we actually stayed in the Estates for two weeks ) it was neat touring around the old lava fields. Then shocking when we saw the destruction of the places we visited šŸ˜µā€šŸ’« ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/682 "2026-09-23T06:08:37Z")
> [@MacDoc](#): > > we actually walked on the cauldron floo Sounds like you may have done the Kilauea Iki hike? Thatā€™s a great one, I love it. The Halemaā€™umaā€™u crater where the episodes are currently occurring hasnā€™t been open to the public for as long as Iā€™ve been here (since 2018) and I think not for a long time prior to that either. So I donā€™t _think_ you would have hiked where the eruption is currently occurring. But, I donā€™t know the full situation over the last few decades. Things definitely change, so maybe there was a time when you could hike right in Halemaā€™umaā€™u. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/683 "2026-09-23T12:56:31Z")
There is some fountaining on V1. I like nighttime eruptions. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/684 "2026-09-23T14:30:33Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I like nighttime eruptions. I donā€™t. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/685 "2026-09-23T17:33:19Z")
Pretty good action right now! Not exactly fountaining, but heavy flow - I guess Iā€™d call it gushing - from the spatter cone. Visible on v1. ETA: And it stopped! So quickly I still had time to edit this post. šŸ¤¬ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/686 "2026-09-23T19:51:34Z")
Thatā€™s happened a bunch. IANA vulcanologist, but that suggests to me there are a bunch of new underground cracks that are still being ā€œexploredā€ by the leading edge of the mobile magma. Sometimes they all cork off and thereā€™s enough pressure to push the magma up an established fissure all the way to a cone. Then we get a small show. Then another underground fissure gets exposed, or a temporary clog breaks up, and the same pressure is instead expended pushing lava into that other fissure to wherever. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/687 "2026-09-24T00:49:11Z")
We have a show again! Gushing the way it was 7 hours ago. V1 has the best views. [[V1cam] KÄ«lauea volcano, Hawaii (west HalemaŹ»umaŹ»u crater)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HggWKlZv9yk) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/688 "2026-09-24T01:04:04Z")
And now, a mere 14 minutes after your post we donā€™t. Just smoking, no spurting. Seems like spurtings now are lasting 10 minutes, tops. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/689 "2026-09-24T01:08:16Z")
Luckily one can scrub back the video so I was able to see some action. Brian ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/690 "2026-09-24T01:40:49Z")
Guess what? It started up about 22 minutes ago according to the video, and a minute ago it stopped again. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/691 "2026-09-24T01:42:24Z")
And off, and on, and off again. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/692 "2026-09-24T01:53:44Z")
Pele wants to run us ragged. The tease! ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/693 "2026-09-24T06:48:30Z")
She > [@LSLGuy](#): > > The tease! She has outdone herself this time. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/694 "2026-09-24T07:16:47Z")
Wow, I canā€™t tell for absolute sure in the dark, but that vent with the spatter cone looks like its venting volcanic gas like a jet right now. Most easily seen on v1. The little glowing sparse rocks are being ejected at higher speeds too, it seems. Andā€¦ I go back to look and itā€™s calmed down. Check out what it was doing at around 21:12 HST. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/695 "2026-09-24T10:34:00Z")
Agree w your assessment. That was spraying gas with some force behind it. Just now itā€™s the usual wafting gas and glow from all the vents. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/696 "2026-09-24T11:37:14Z")
Great show happening right now ! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/697 "2026-09-24T14:04:26Z")
Nice flowing & a baby fountain from about 0130-0200 HT. All done now. Just glow. ---
**Author:** ![MacDoc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/macdoc/32/18696_2.png) [@MacDoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacDoc)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/698 "2026-09-24T17:21:02Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > So I donā€™t _think_ you would have hiked where the eruption is currently occurring. We hiked it 60 years ago ā€¦Volcano House was perched on the rimā€¦the conditions were such that it would never be allowed now. Itā€™s still pretty vivid in memory, sight, sounds and smells 6 decades on. The odd thing is coming back in 2018 to quite a changed landscape ā€¦very quietā€¦until all hell broke loose a few weeks later. Very surreal watching the roads we had just travelled being consumedā€¦and the lava pouring off the cliffs was awsome to see on video coverage šŸŒ‹ The **2018 Leilani Estates eruption** (often misspelled as ā€œLalaniā€) was a major volcanic event where **KÄ«lauea Volcano** opened 24 active fissure vents directly inside the Leilani Estates residential subdivision on the Big Island of Hawaii. [[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIEjl3ayek&t=1), [2](https://bigislandnow.com/2023/05/03/5-years-ago-on-big-island-eruption-in-leilani-no-joke-lava-is-coming-out-right-now/)] The four-month-long lower East Rift Zone eruption began on **May 3, 2018** , causing widespread destruction and permanent geological changes. [[1](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/12/us/kilauea-volcano-lava-leilani-estates-hawaii.html), [2](https://bigislandnow.com/2023/05/03/5-years-ago-on-big-island-eruption-in-leilani-no-joke-lava-is-coming-out-right-now/)] **Key Impacts & Facts** - **Destruction:** The fast-moving lava flows covered over 15 square miles (approx. 8,700 acres) of land and **destroyed more than 700 structures** , including hundreds of homes. [[1](https://bigislandnow.com/2023/05/03/5-years-ago-on-big-island-eruption-in-leilani-no-joke-lava-is-coming-out-right-now/), [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIEjl3ayek&t=1)] - **Displacement:** Over **2,000 residents were evacuated** under mandatory orders as molten rock fountain heights reached up to 300 feet (100 meters). [[1](https://abcnews.com/US/lava-hawaii-volcano-destroys-10-mores-houses-leilani/story?id=55491852), [2](https://www.facebook.com/cnn/videos/lava-fountains-reach-heights-of-more-than-300ft-following-kilauea-volcano-erupti/10158317945496509/), [3](https://bigislandnow.com/2023/05/03/5-years-ago-on-big-island-eruption-in-leilani-no-joke-lava-is-coming-out-right-now/)] - **Infrastructure Threat:** For the first time in history, volcanic lava breached a geothermal plantā€”the [Puna Geothermal Venture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIEjl3ayek)ā€”raising severe toxic gas concerns. [[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIEjl3ayek&t=1), [2](https://abcnews.com/US/lava-hawaii-volcano-destroys-10-mores-houses-leilani/story?id=55491852)] - **New Land:** The relentless lava flow poured into the ocean along the Puna shoreline, ultimately creating **875 acres of new land**. [[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIEjl3ayek&t=1)] ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/699 "2026-09-24T17:42:52Z")
> [@MacDoc](#): > > The **2018 Leilani Estates eruption** (often misspelled as ā€œLalaniā€) was a major volcanic event Yes indeed. It happened just after I moved to Hawaiā€™i full time. In fact, the first fissure opened up on the same date that my gamelan (a Javanese orchestra of bronze and teak instruments) arrived at the port. The name of the gamelan (chosen, as is the tradition, by a well respected Javanese elder after meditation) is ā€œSekar Dahanaā€ which we translate to ā€œMolten Blossom.ā€ But the word ā€œdahanaā€ literally means ā€œlava.ā€ From a mystical Javanese perspective, this is no coincidence. I have to be careful how I relate the story, however, because the eruption was devastating for people and property, so itā€™s not a tale to be told lightly. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665/700 "2026-09-24T20:45:35Z")
Lava is flowing again, and coming straight up out of the cone so that it pours down the sides of the cone itself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-volcano-watchers-maybe-youll-get-lucky-kilauea-may-be-erupting/989665.md?page=36)