June 5: Kapoho Bay Is No More

Today’s Eruption Summary:
Kapoho Bay Before and After filled with Lava
USGS overflights of Kapoho Bay, morning of June 3 and June 5.

Lava reached Kapoho Bay on Saturday night, around 10:30. By Tuesday morning, it was Kapoho Point. There were hundreds of homes here, plus farms, tidepools, and marine life.

There’s really not much more one can say.

(See Mick Kalber’s observations/notes for this video)

There was another small predawn ash explosion up at Kilauea’s summit, where we can now watch the changes to Halema’uma’u Crater (see below). HI Civil Defense, the Dept. of Health and EPA have set up a new network of sensors to monitor and report air quality in realtime, which should help the rest of the island.

But Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots have now followed the 1960 village of Kapoho into memory.

Of course, that’s not the whole story for today. There’s new images and videos, USGS updates and info, articles on the eruption’s impact from local Hawaiian news outlets, and eyewitness reports and reactions on social media. So here’s the usual daily roundup of Kilauea eruption news.

USGS Images and Videos: kapoho

Here’s the culprit, of course: the now-infamous Fissure 8 in Leilani Estates. Or as some are starting to call it on social media, Pu’u Leilani. Here’s some short video clips taken by the USGS Monday night and early Tuesday morning:

It’s down from 260ft, fluctuating between 100-160ft overnight, but that’s still plenty to keep filling the channel down to Kapoho.

USGS Caption: “Lava fountains continue at fissure 8, although overnight USGS field crews reported reduced fountain heights. The lava fountain has built a 35 m (115 ft) high spatter cone, as wells as an actively-growing spatter rampart on its eastern side. The lava channel leading from the cone was filled to the top of its levees at the time of this photo.” (Full-sized)

Another image of Kapoho Beach Lots/Vacationland from this morning’s USGS overflight:

USGS Caption: “By the morning of June 5, the fissure 8 lava flow front had completely filled Kapoho Bay.” (Full-sized)

This is from yesterday (June 4); morning and afternoon video clips of the lava’s progress in Kapoho Bay. Video description notes that during morning flight, lava had been entering ocean “for over seven hours.”

Meanwhile, Up at the Summit (USGS)
USGS Caption: “Morning view of Halema‘uma‘u and the adjacent caldera floor from the Kīlauea overlook. Heavy steam dominates the view, and strong winds are blowing the plume to the southwest.” (Full-sized)

This photo is from the first helicopter flight to Kilauea’s summit since ash explosions began. It shows how the former lava lake/overlook vent has carved a sort of lower step out of the floor of Halema’uma’u Crater. Pele’s Throne?

USGS Caption: “HVO scientists captured this aerial view of a much-changed Halema‘uma‘u during their overflight of the summit this afternoon. Explosions and collapse within Halema‘uma‘u have enlarged the crater (foreground) that previously hosted the summit lava lake, and the far rim of Halema‘uma‘u has dropped with continued summit deflation. The parking area for the former Halema‘uma‘u Overlook (closed since early 2008 due to volcanic hazards) can be seen to the left of the crater.” (Full-sized)

News from the summit – we now have a #Kilauea Caldera livestream!

We heard the calls, leapt over hurdles, jumped through hoops, and made it happen. Enjoy watching what the caldera is doing…right now!
and now…
and NOW!  — Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Facebook

Daylight only, and fairly low-resolution (see: bandwidth issues), but we’ll take it.

Also the USGS put out a little video clip of some of the work they’re doing, with glimpses of the Leilani Estates eruption over the past month.

I’ve gotten in the habit of taking a screengrab of the LERZ webcam whenever I’m working on these posts. As usual, here’s Fissure 8, blazing away…

Webcam screengrab of LERZ webcam, June 5 about 8:20pm HST.

Edit: new update from USGS just after I posted:

(pretty much the same as usual, but that’s a photo of Fissure 8 I haven’t seen before)

USGS June 5 Maps of Leilani Estates/Kapoho
USGS Map of lava flows, June 5, 10AM (Full-sized)

Thermal cam. Note that the flows from last month haven’t completely cooled (gray areas).

USGS Map of lava flows, June 5, 12:30pm (Full-sized)
Civil Defense Alerts

I’ve been waiting for USGS to upload their daily briefing video, but they may not since there was an eruption community information meeting in Pahoa tonight. Civil Defense alerts (6am | 12pm | 6pm) say all the usual things about evacuations, closures, shelters and volcano hazards, but add this update:

“Fissure 8 is still active and producing a large channelized flow that has inundated Vacationland and most of Kapoho Beach Lots. The ocean entry has filled Kapoho Bay and is extending 0.7 miles from shore. A large laze plume is blowing inland into the air along the coastline. “

Oh, here we go.

USGS 11AM media conference call

USGS Wes Thelen [my transcript]:

Eruptive activity continues at two places on Kilauea volcano.

In the Lower East Rift Zone, Fissure 8 continues to be the dominant source of lava effusion and continues to feed flows east into the ocean. A new lava channel spread around the south side of Kapoho Cone and rejoined the fissure 8 flow heading to the ocean. The subdivisions of Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots have been almost entirely inundated with lava. In addition, Kapoho Bay has been almost entirely filled. Lobes of lava that broke out of the main channel to the north, most notably near the cinder pit, appear to be stagnant at this time. Over the past 24 hours, the vigor of Fissure 8 has diminished somewhat, but Fissure 9 and 10, slightly uprift, are quite hot and have gas emitting from them.

In the summit of Kilauea, several hours of strong earthquake activity preceded a minor explosion at 4:32am local time. The explosion produced an ash cloud to 5000ft. Earthquake activity diminished significantly after the explosion, which is consistent with the pattern we’ve seen over the course of the last couple of weeks. Deflation in the summit continues, and thus if the current pattern holds we should expect increased earthquake activity to lead to another explosion in the next 24 to 48 hours. Population in the immediate vicinity of the summit of Kilauea should expect to feel many of these earthquakes.”

Q&A: [How do you judge vigor is less?] Answer: Fountain heights lower than 24 hours ago, and flow levees— cooled edges of channel— “starting to collapse somewhat” which happens when flow channel volume is less.

[end transcript]

From Hawaii News Outlets Today

Video: “After lava Takes His Kapoho Home, Mayor Speaks”

Didn’t watch this, but summary says, “Much of Tuesday’s meeting focused on moving evacuees from the shelter to temporary housing, and eventually permanent housing.”

HNN’s Mileka Lincoln investigates

“(June 5 at 6:45 AM): Heading out to sea with my brother Ikaika Marzo to check out the ocean entries at Kapoho Bay & Pohoiki for Hawaii News Now – Sunrise. We are in a licensed lava tour boat with a valid DLNR permit and are aware of the U.S. Coast Guard’s 1,000 foot safety zone perimeter.”

Big Island Live

#LIVE: Lava has destroyed hundreds more homes on the Big Island and filled all of Kapoho Bay. LATEST: https://bit.ly/2JrWnBT#HNN #HINews

Posted by Hawaii News Now on Tuesday, June 5, 2018

(turn down sound on this one: windy, late afternoon view of ocean entry)

#LeilaniEstatesEruption #KilaueaVolcano UPDATE (June 5 at 4:45 PM): We are LIVE tonight on #HawaiiNewsNow from what is left of Kapoho Bay as lava continues to pour into the ocean — filling most of it and creating a lava delta that USGS HVO geologists estimate is 0.7 miles long. We are waiting on official numbers from the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency on exactly how many homes have been lost in the Kapoho and Vacationland area — bough census numbers estimate as many as 350 houses were built in Kapoho Beach Lots and about 150 were in Vacationland. From our vantage point in the water, most of that area is now covered in lava — including Wai o Pae or the Kapoho tide pools. According to the last Civil Defense update: “Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that vigorous lava eruptions continue in the lower East Rift Zone. Fissure 8 is still active and producing a large channelized flow that has inundated Vacationland and most of Kapoho Beach Lots. The ocean entry has filled Kapoho Bay and is extending 0.7 miles from shore. A large laze plume is blowing inland into the air along the coastline. Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean plume. Health hazards of laze include lung damage, and eye and skin irritation. Be aware that the laze plume travels with the wind and can change direction without warning. Government Beach Road, between Kahakai Boulevard and Cinder Road, is open to Waa Waa and Papaya Farms Road residents only with official credentials. There is no curfew. The shelter at Pahoa Community Center is open and pet-friendly. The Keaau Armory shelter has reached capacity. An eruption community information meeting will be held at the Pahoa High School cafeteria this evening, Tuesday, June 5 at 5:00 in the evening.” Stay tuned to @HawaiiNewsNow for the very latest developments #HInews #HawaiiNews #HNN #HawaiiNewsNow #WeAreYourSource

A post shared by Mileka Lincoln (@milekalincoln) on

(a little less windy)

#LeilaniEstatesEruption #KilaueaVolcano UPDATE (June 5 at 6 PM): We are LIVE tonight on #HawaiiNewsNow from what is left of Kapoho Bay as lava continues to pour into the ocean — filling most of it and creating a lava delta that USGS HVO geologists estimate is 0.7 miles long. Officials say an estimated 500 homes have been lost in what is believed to be the single most destructive day of any eruption in modern times. We are still waiting on official numbers from the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency on exactly how many homes have been lost in the Kapoho and Vacationland area — though census numbers estimate as many as 350 houses were built in Kapoho Beach Lots and about 150 were in Vacationland. From our vantage point in the water, most of that area is now covered in lava — including Wai o Pae or the Kapoho tide pools. According to the last Civil Defense update: “Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that vigorous lava eruptions continue in the lower East Rift Zone. Fissure 8 is still active and producing a large channelized flow that has inundated Vacationland and most of Kapoho Beach Lots. The ocean entry has filled Kapoho Bay and is extending 0.7 miles from shore. A large laze plume is blowing inland into the air along the coastline. Be aware of the laze hazard and stay away from any ocean plume. Health hazards of laze include lung damage, and eye and skin irritation. Be aware that the laze plume travels with the wind and can change direction without warning. Government Beach Road, between Kahakai Boulevard and Cinder Road, is open to Waa Waa and Papaya Farms Road residents only with official credentials. There is no curfew. The shelter at Pahoa Community Center is open and pet-friendly. The Keaau Armory shelter has reached capacity.” Stay tuned to @HawaiiNewsNow for the very latest developments #HInews #HawaiiNews #HNN #HawaiiNewsNow #WeAreYourSource

A post shared by Mileka Lincoln (@milekalincoln) on

Social Media Roundup

Okay, this pyroclast is furred with a strip of that glassy gold honeycomb I expect to see when something is called “reticulite.” I’m still confused, but whatever it is, it’s interesting:

 

I keep forgetting to check the Hawaii National Guard’s photo album, which has some amazing images.

June 2: (Hawaii Army National Guard Photo by Sgt. John Schoebel)

Hawaii National Guard

And June 3 (U.S. Air National Guard Photo by Tech. Sgt Andrew Jackson):

Hawaii National Guard

Crowdsourced, and not official:

I noticed this yesterday— Right now, if you go to the summit webcams at about 6 HST, the angle of the sun is just right for a rainbow.