Spectacular new photos capture hellish lava flows on Mauna Loa. Take a look
New photos of the Mauna Loa eruption show a hellish scene: fiery lava flows creeping down the volcano in Hawaii.
Officials posted the photos on Facebook on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and shared that they’re closing more recreation areas on the mountain.
The lava was flowing into the Northeast Rift zone from the volcano’s summit caldera, officials with the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Forestry and Wildlife said.
The agency closed Unit J of the Kapāpala Game Management Area until further notice.
“No one should be accessing Mauna Loa at this time,” Hawaii Island Branch Manager Steve Bergfeld said in the post. “Our sole focus is on public safety, which depends on where lava ultimately flows.”
On Monday, the department closed the entire Mauna Loa Forest Reserve, “a massive 50,000-acre area,” officials said. Bergfeld also decided to close the Kīpuka ʻĀinahou Nēnē Sanctuary, ʻĀinapō Trail and cabin, and the Kapāpala Forest Reserve for 90 days.
Officials said Monday they expect crowds to flood to Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park in hopes of witnessing the “rare dual eruption” of both Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes.
The National Park Service had already closed access to Mauna Loa’s summit from the south when the volcano started showing signs of unrest in early October, McClatchy News previously reported.
Jack Corrao, the chief ranger at Volcanoes National Park, warned that officials had set up barriers at the “main, easy, access points” that lead up to the summit and that anyone trying to cross the barriers would face consequences.
“These include the Mauna Loa Observatory Access Road through Hawai’i County and Mauna Loa Road, known locally as ‘Strip Road’,” he said. “These have been closed physically through barriers. Individuals attempting to access through these are subject to fines and arrest.”
Officers with the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement teamed up with the Hawaii Police Department to set up a roadblock at the intersection of Mauna Loa Observatory Access Road and Daniel K. Inouye Highway, also known as Saddle Road. Officials are manning the intersection roadblocks 24 hours a day, officials said.
Officials with the Hawaii Science Museum also posted a stunning visual captured from a helicopter that showed a wall of lava spewing and boiling up from the summit. Thick plumes of smoke rose up into the atmosphere.
It’s a good reminder that the danger of an eruption is not limited to lava at the summit.
Health officials are warning residents to beware of “vog” — hazy air pollution produced by volcanic eruptions. It’s created when sulfur dioxide gas from volcanic vents “reacts in the atmosphere with oxygen, sunlight, moisture, and other gases and particles,” officials said. It can be irritating to the skin, eyes, nose and throat, and it can result in respiratory distress, McClatchy News previously reported.
Officials also warned of Pele’s Hair, which are thin glass fibers produced by volcanic eruptions and named for the volcanic deity Pele.
This story was originally published November 29, 2022 at 4:41 PM with the headline "Spectacular new photos capture hellish lava flows on Mauna Loa. Take a look."
