Geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory spent Friday mapping four small lava breakouts in the interior of Kilauea Volcano’s Kahaualea 2 flow.

The flow extends about 4 miles northeast of the Puu Oo vent.

Observatory cameras detected a distant smoke plume on Friday, suggesting that the most distant breakout is burning forest. Several glowing spots from the nearest and most distant breakouts were also visible.

According to the observatory, the Kahaualea 2 flow has been making erratic progress over the past few months and appears to be weakening.

Strong "deflation-inflation" events — cyclical occurrences — have periodically interrupted the flow of lava, causing the flow front to stagnate. Breakouts reappear behind the stalled flow front and take time to reach the front again.

Overall, the flow front has advanced only 1.1 mile since the first time it stalled in November, according to the observatory.

At the summit, the lava lake dropped about 154 feet below the floor of Halemaumau Crater on Saturday. Rises and falls in the lava lake level are common.

The lake lies within a nearly cylindrical vent cavity within the east wall and floor of Halemaumau Crater.

Thirty-seven earthquakes were recorded beneath the volcano from Friday to Saturday.