Kilauea lava lake reaches highest level in more than a year

Lava rose to within 16 to 20 feet of the crater floor at Halemaumau this morning, the highest levels in more than a year.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory posted photos and a video taken Wednesday night that showed the lava lake at Kilauea reaching a level of 26 feet below the crater floor.

The lava dropped Thursday and Friday to about 66 feet below the crater floor, but rose higher this morning.

The lake is at its highest level since May 2015 and is easily visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook.

Meanwhile, lava continues entering the ocean from Puu Oo vent in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Satellite images showed a new surface lava flow starting near the base of the pali and extending 0.6 miles along the coastal plain leading to the ocean.

Access to the lava entering the ocean is open from the end of Chain of Craters Road in the national park and from a county lava viewing area in Kalapana.

But scientists caution that visitors should not get too close to the flow. There is a danger of explosions from lava going into the ocean and from the collapse of the unstable new land created by the ocean entry.

Geologists reported a small explosion Monday when a large section of new land fell into the ocean.

Also, the fumes created by the interaction of ocean and lava are acidic and contain small particles that could be hazardous. Geologists visiting the area last weekend put on respirators because of the strong fumes.