~ Surface lava flows by viewing area again ~ Blue Full Moon tonight

Visitors watching surface flows and distant ocean entry lava plume

Weak surface flows out on the coastal plain have continued sprouting out of the lava tube system the past few days, and some of the breakouts have become stronger and are close by the Hawaii County lava-viewing site at roads end; likely providing some good looks at pahoehoe from there today and tonight.

The barricades at the end of the viewing road are being covered by lava right now… so I guess that will be re-located later today…
If lava continues inflating and advancing at that location it will be once again entering the backyard of one occupied Kalapana home; the third time in two months. I will try to get some update photos of these events later today... going surfing now…

Tonight’s Blue Moon, the third of four full moons in the same season, will be near the Pleiades star cluster - watch for this in the east after sunset

CURRENT MOON

moon phase info

Public lava viewing is from the access road off the very end of Highway 130. There is a parking area, port-o-potties and security personnel on site between 2:00 PM and 10:00 PM daily. Last car allowed in at 8:00 PM, but you can stay in the area until about 9:30 PM.
A half-mile walk down the road from the parking takes you to where recent lava covered it, as well as affording vista views of the lines of degassing fumes wafting from the underground lava tubes that presently carry tremendous amounts of liquid rock for miles down slope to the sea. And from the road you can see where the lava vigorously pours into the ocean and huge plumes of steam rise up. After dark the base of this steam will glow red and orange colors from reflective molten lava. Periodically, as we are having right now, there have been sizable surface flows of lava breaking out well within view of the access road; these breaks have often flowed close to, and on to, the viewing site these past months; conditions for that change weekly.

You can get on-site information updates for the public access road by phoning management personnel stationed there after 2:00 PM:
430-1966 or 217-2215. The main Civil Defense lava viewing hotline is 961-8093.
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