April  2008   UPDATE   PHOTOS

I apologize for the lengthy delay between updates, but life took a turn away from the volcano
once the park superintendent closed the area around the Lae'apuki for almost a year.
Hurricane Katrina came ashore shortly after my last update, and I spent a year and a half assisting in the effort
to rescue, rehome, and reunite animals that evacuees were forced to leave behind  in the Gulf region.
That experience kind of fried my psyche for a while, and I took the next year staying off the internet
and planting fruit trees and numerous species of bamboo around the homestead.
Anyhoo, as you may have heard Kilauea has been up to all sorts of unprecedented activity
and so we resume our normally scheduled programming...

 After a delay of ~26 years, Halema'uma'u has a rosy glow once again,
and for the first time since 1924 the summit has hosted an explosion.
In fact there have been 3 in the last month, the last of which I was able to witness.
Unfortunately it wasn't a photogenic moment , but I hope the following moments
do qualify in that regard...



 

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This is what I saw from my house last November as Pu'u O'o underwent a transformation and
new vents opened to the east.



 
 

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The first glow in Halema'uma'u since 1982, prior to the initial explosion.
Superheated gases escaping from the vent were heating the rocky rubble to the point that they glowed.



 
 

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After the first explosion, the plume contained copious quantities of brown ash.
This lasted several days.



 
 

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That is a white tailed tropicbird crossing in front of the plume...



 
 

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Madam Pele blows the ashy plume towards Pahala and Ka'u...



 
 

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Then the ash content changed, and the plume became white as it remains to this day...



 
 
 

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The Park finally got over the paranoia following the first explosion,
and reopened Crater Rim Drive to Jaggar Museum, allowing a full view of the vent...



 
 

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As you can imagine, visitors are flocking to the Park to pose with the plume...



 
 

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Ash falls from the plume over the Halema'uma'u overlook parking lot
and Crater Rim Drive...



 
 

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A streak of incandescent particles waft up from the center of the vent...



 
 

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An ohia lehua bouquet for Madam Pele...



 
 

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...and she says mahalo nui loa!



 
 

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On April 8 the tradewinds died, and the plume went straight up...



 
 

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...until the winds shifted towards the Park headquarters and Volcano Village, prompting the
Park to evacuate and remain closed for 2 days.



 
 

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A hula halau pays tribute to Pele from the rim of Kilauea...



 
 

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And now a few from the coast near Kalapana, mostly skylights in the lava tube system.
The only entity more paranoid than the Park about liability issues is the County of Hawai'i,
so I won't be down there much as things stand now.
Fortunately, a couple of my Ranger friends invited me into the closed area on a mission
to retrieve some equipment for the USGS folks from HVO and I got these shots...



 
 

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Crowds in the County viewing area/corral...



 
 

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...get a chance to see distant glow from the ocean entries.
Viewing area is open from 2 PM until 10 PM.
Last car allowed in at 8 PM.
 
 
 

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