Visitors are rushing to see two ongoing eruptions on Hawaii’s Big Island: the world’s largest active volcano, Mauna Loa, which began erupting late Sunday night, and Kilauea, which has been erupting for months. Both volcanoes are located in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which remains open to visitors for this period, with some roads and hiking trails closed due to volcanic hazards. Beyond these closures, however, people can safely view both eruptions inside the park.
Early in the eruption, the park closed Mauna Loa Road from the Kīpukapuaulu gate to vehicles Monday morning. Mauna Loa’s summit, lodges and elevation areas have been closed since early October, when the volcano began showing signs of unrest and increased seismicity. Additionally, Mauna Loa Observatory Road outside the park is also closed to the public. The road, which provides access to scientists at the Mauna Loa Observatory, was flooded with lava late Monday night.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is closely monitoring Mauna Loa in tandem with our colleagues at USGS and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense,” said Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh. “The park is currently open, but visitors should be prepared and informed,” Loh said.
Before going to the park, visitors are urged to check the park’s website for closure updates, safety alerts, air quality and other information, including links to USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory webcams and eruption updates.
Today, lava was erupting from a series of fissures along the giant volcano’s northeast rift zone. This lava flowed down the slopes of the volcano towards the “saddle” of the island, between the area of Mauna Loa volcano to the south and Mauna Kea volcano to the north. Along this saddle is a road known as the Daniel K. Inouye Highway; it is also simply referred to as the “Saddle Road”. The lava is approaching the highway and at the time of this report was only 5 miles away.
Many people drive up Saddle Road to see the fissures and lava flows coming down the volcano’s slopes. Hawaii County Civil Defense warns: “For those traveling on Saddle Road/Daniel K. Inouye Highway, parking along the highway is unsafe and prohibited. The Hawaii Police Department reports that vehicles parked along Saddle Road/Daniel K. Inouye Highway between mile markers 16 and 31 will be subject to a citation and towed. “
Saddle Road is the main east/west highway on the Big Island of Hawaii. If it becomes flooded with lava, people traveling around the island will have to take roads that run around the perimeter of the island, potentially adding significant travel times to those going between the Kona and Hilo parts of the island.