A long, lateral crack in sea cliffs built by Kilauea Volcano has scientists worried about a second collapse into the ocean.
Hawaii park officials are warning visitors to stay within the designated viewing area about 900 feet from where the lava is flowing into the ocean.
“We have a great viewing area,” Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park spokeswoman Jessica Ferracane said by telephone Tuesday.
Ferracane said even with warning signs everywhere, some people are going into closed-off areas nearer to the lava flow.
She said five people were given citations Sunday, and more than four dozen citations have been issued in the last couple of months. Ferracane said nearly 1,000 people came to view the volcanic activity on the Kalapana side of the lava flow Sunday.
Scientists viewing the lava flow Sunday estimated the crack was 70 yards long and about 50 feet inland, said Janet Babb, a scientist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. There was no estimate of when the makai section might break off.
More than 23 acres, including a former viewing area, collapsed Dec. 31, sending volcanic rock and thick plumes of debris and gas into the air and ocean.
Five people ignored warning signs and went into an area where the lava area was collapsing, and park rangers chased after them and made them turn around.
The collapse exposed a stream of lava flowing into the ocean like water from a fire hose.
Babb said scientists planned to return today to look at the crack again and confirm a report by a resident that a portion of the sea cliff close to the lava flow had fallen into the ocean. She said a collapse on an active lava sea cliff is no surprise because these areas are inherently unstable.
Venturing too close to an ocean entry on land or from the ocean exposes visitors to flying debris created by the explosive interaction between lava and water, the U.S. Geological Survey warns.
At the Kamokuna lava ocean entry, lava continues to pour into the ocean from a tube 66 feet up the sea cliff. Surface flows also remain active within 1.5 miles of the Puu Oo vent, scientists said Tuesday.
These flows currently pose no threat to nearby communities.
In Halemaumau Crater the lava lake surface was about 60 feet below the crater floor early Tuesday morning.
Correction: The crack in the sea cliffs near the lava flow on Hawaii Island is 70 yards long. A previous version of this story and in the Wednesday print edition said it was 70 feet long.
