Hawaii volcano eruption continues as alert level lowered

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, is erupting again and providing a spectacle that includes bursting lava fountains and lava “waves” but no Big Island communities are in danger.

Kilauea began erupting Thursday inside its summit crater, the U.S. Geological Survey said — less than one month after the volcano and its larger neighbor Mauna Loa stopped releasing lava. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images indicating Kilauea had begun erupting inside Halemaumau crater at the volcano's summit caldera, the agency said.

Kilauea last erupted for 16 months starting in September 2021, and for about two weeks starting last November, Hawaii had two volcanoes spewing lava side by side when Mauna Loa erupted for the first time in 38 years.

The observatory on Thursday raised Kilauea's alert level, but on Friday morning lowered it from warning to watch “because the initial high effusion rates are declining, and no infrastructure is threatened.”

Kilauea’s summit is inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and away from residential communities.

The eruption is expected to remain in the summit, the observatory said Friday.

That's reassuring to Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth. “We’re feeling pretty good about where it’s at right now,” he said Friday.

The Big Island is familiar with the dangers of living with active volcanoes.

Mauna Loa lava got within 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) of a major highway connecting the east and west sides of the island when the volcano erupted in November. A 2018 Kilauea eruption destroyed more than 700 residences.

Both volcanoes stopped erupting at about the same time last month.

The volcanoes can be seen at the same time from multiple spots in Hawaii...