Puu Oo lava continues to flow southeast

Lava from a fissure breakout that began Wednesday morning at the upper southeast flank of Puu Oo cone continued to advance southeast Friday in the general direction of the mostly abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision.

By Friday morning the flow had advanced more than a half-mile from the previous day for a total advance of 2.3 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The flow so far is contained within the Kahauale’a Natural Area Reserve. However, the observatory predicted that any additional movement would likely continue in the southeast direction, along the western edge of a previous flow called the Thanksgiving Eve Breakout.

On Wednesday a fissure eruption on the upper southeast flank of Puu Oo drained lava lakes in the crater. That lava is feeding the current southeastern flow.