COURTESY USGS / MAY 2022
The Kilauea caldera is showing increased signs of activity. The park has closed affected areas as a precaution.
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Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park expanded area closures Tuesday after Kilauea Volcano began showing increased signs of unrest in the upper East Rift Zone.
The park closed Chain of Craters Road at the intersection near the Devastation parking lot, Devastation Trail and parking area, and the Keanakakoi Crater side of Kilauea caldera. The volcano’s summit remains open between Uekahuna and Puupuai, including the Nahuku lava tube.
“Decisions to temporarily close areas of the park are never easy but are made as a precaution,” Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh said in a news release. “Kilauea volcano is very restless right now, and safety is our utmost priority.”
Mauna Iki Trail and a section of the Kau Desert Trail past the “Footprints” exhibit to the Mauna Iki Trail intersection have been closed since October following unrest in the south-southwest area of the Kilauea caldera. The “Footprints” exhibit is still open and accessible from Highway 11.
According to the release, the U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is “closely monitoring the seismic increase and change in activity on Kilauea volcano.” The USGS reported Tuesday morning that “unrest may continue to wax and wane with changes to the input of magma into the area and eruptive activity could occur in the near future with little or no warning.” Mauna Loa’s summit was closed weeks before it erupted in November 2022 after almost 40 years of inactivity. There were no evacuations or search and rescue missions.
Kilauea last erupted Sept. 10 for about a week.
Park visitors can check the park website at nps.gov/hawaiivolcanoes for closure or hazard alerts.