Two Hilo residents were cited Saturday after a state officer spotted them loitering with two children in a eruption zone that is closed under a Hawaii county law, the Department of Land and Natural Resources said.

An officer with DLNR’s Division of Conservation and Resources cited Alexander White, 32, and Ruth Moss, 41, near MacKenzie State Recreation Area after seeing them walking along the shoreline with two children at Coconut Grove at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday.

The officer reported the adults and children did not have personal protective equipment despite sulfur dioxide levels reaching 2.3 parts per million earlier in the day. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health says a safe level for sulfur dioxide is less than 2.0 parts per million.

All four were escorted back to the road block on Highway 137.

Being in an area that is restricted or closed due to the Kilauea eruption in the East Rift Zone is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine, under a supplemental proclamation signed by Gov. David Ige.

Seventy-six people have been cited since this eruption began.