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The Lava Tree State Monument in Puna was to reopen this morning after being closed for several months due to the Kilauea Volcano eruption.
The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources announced the state park was to reopen at 7:45 a.m.
The public is able to view the lower East Rift Zone’s fissure 8 just outside of the park from Highway 132. The small park which has a 0.7-mile loop trail is located 2.7 miles southeast of Pahoa off the highway.
The park features lava molds on tree trunks from a previous lava flow that occurred in years past.
Though lava from the May eruption did not flow into the park, earthquakes associated with the eruption damaged park facilities, prompting its closure.
The eruption began May 3 and opened 24 fissures. Lava covered more than 6,000 acres of land in Lower Puna and destroyed more than 700 homes in the Leilani Estates and Kapoho areas.
It also impacted more than 1,600 acres of farms.
DLNR said the state’s Pohoiki Boat Ramp near the Isaac Hale County Park remains closed because a new black sand beach has blocked the entrance to the ramp.
Officials of the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation are continuing discussions to determine whether sand from the area can be dredged or relocated to a new location in Lower Puna.
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