Mauna Loa eruption – latest news: USGS warns lava likely to hit highway as tourists flock to volcano for selfies

The eruption of Hawaii‘s Mauna Loa volcano has temporarily knocked off power to the world’s premier station that measures heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but officials Wednesday say it won’t be a problem.

There are hundreds of other carbon dioxide monitoring sites across the globe. The federal government is looking for a temporary alternate site on the Hawaiian island and is contemplating flying a generator to the Mauna Loa observatory to get its power back so it can take measurements again, said officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Monitoring Lab in Colorado that operates the station.

The Hawaiian station goes back to 1958 and is the main site for the famous Keeling Curve that shows rising carbon dioxide levels from burning of coal, oil and natural gas that tracks with rising temperatures. Levels of carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa have increased 33% since 1958.

The station at 11,300 feet high (3,444 meters), has a 131-foot (40-meter) tower that collects air to measure levels of carbon dioxide, radiation and other materials. Even though the flow of lava isn’t near the station it cut off power lines further down the mountain, officials said.

“This is sort of our flagship station,” said Colm Sweeney, the monitoring lab’s associate director. “The scientific value of Mauna Loa is really in what it stands for. It also is one of the cleanest signals that we have.”

As a stream of molten lava continues inching towards a main highway on Hawaii’s Big Island, threatening to shut down the thoroughfare and reroute traffic between two main communities, officials in the state are saying they’re urging residents to be prepared for delays.

Hawaii Governor David Ige said Wednesday that he plans to activate the Hawaii National Guard to help set up critical infrastructure and “support planning for alternative routes and help with making available bypass routes if that becomes necessary.”

Ed Sniffen, the deputy director of highways for the state department of transportation, confirmed that the state’s agencies are preparing for a probably necessary shut down when and if the lava reaches the highway, known more commonly as Saddle Road.

“All the equipment necessary to shut down the road where it was necessary, to put a message board, so we can alert everyone in advance of the shutdowns, and that we can clear the Hamakua coast of any lane restrictions that we have on that area,” said Mr Sniffen.

Tourists have flocked to Hawaii to witness the world’s largest active volcano erupting, with fountains of lava being spewed out reaching over 100 feet high.

This is the first eruption of Mauna Loa in 38 years, with eruptive activity at the site last seen in 1984. Smaller nearby volcano, Kilauea, has been erupting since 2021, so both can be viewed from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The park is open 24 hours a day and, as reported by Stuff, tourists have seen the best views at night and before sunrise.

Spokesperson for the National Park, Jessica Ferracane, said: “The viewing has been spectacular,” before adding that, “this is a rare time where we have two eruptions happening simultaneously.”

The US Geological Survey warned during a Wednesday evening press conference that there was a “high probability” that the lava crawling from the erupting Mauna Loa volcano could reach a main highway on Hawaii’s Big Island.

Officials are preparing for the possibility that the Daniel K Inouye Highway, which connects the communities of Hilo and Kona on the island, could be shut down within days as the molten lava continues to flow across the terrain.

“It’ll probably come around the north side of Pu’u Huluhulu, which is right at the Mauna Kea turnoff on Saddle Road,” said Ken Hon, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge, at a news conference Wednesday, according to Hawaii News Now.

The lava flow was previously moving at a rate of 130 meters an hour, which if maintained, means it could reach the main thoroughfare by Friday, the USGS said.

But as of 7pm local time on Wednesday, Mr Hon had confirmed that it had slowed to just 24 metres per hour, as the lava had hit a flat terrain.

“The terrain is what is slowing it down. There’s no doubt about it also getting more distant from vent… we’re seeing more crystal… they get hard and like block start providing resistance,” he explained.

Officials within the state were preparing for the seemingly inevitable shutdown of the highway as they mapped out routes for diverting traffic, if needed.

Hawaii Governor David Ige had previously said that, should this shutdown come, he plans to activate the Hawaii National Guard to help set up critical infrastructure and “support planning for alternative routes and help with making available bypass routes if that becomes necessary.”

The lava was tumbling slowly down the slope and was about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the highway known as Saddle Road. It was not clear when, or if, it would cover the road, which runs through old lava flows.

The road bisects the island and connects the cities of Hilo and Kailua-Kona. People traveling between them would need to take a longer coastal road if Saddle Road becomes impassable, adding several hours of drive time.

Ken Hon, scientist in charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said at current rate of flow, the soonest the lava would get to the road is two days, but he added that things could change.

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. The current eruption is its 34th since written record keeping began in 1843. Its smaller neighbor, Kilauea, has been erupting since September 2021, so visitors to the national park were being treated to the rare sight of two simultaneous eruptive events: the glow from Kilauea’s lava lake and lava from a Mauna Loa fissure.

Abel Brown, a visitor from Las Vegas, was impressed by the natural forces on display. He planned to take a close-up helicopter tour later in the day — but not too close.

“There’s a lot of fear and trepidation if you get really close to it,” Brown said. “The closer you get, the more powerful it is and the more scary it is.”

The world’s largest volcano oozed rivers of glowing lava Wednesday, drawing thousands of awestruck viewers who jammed a Hawaiian highway that could soon be covered by the flow.

Mauna Loa awoke from its 38-year slumber Sunday, causing volcanic ash and debris to drift down from the sky. A main highway linking towns on the east and west coasts of the Big Island became an impromptu viewing point, with thousands of cars jamming the highway near Volcanoes National Park.

Anne Andersen left her overnight shift as a nurse to see the spectacle Wednesday, afraid that the road would soon be closed.

“It’s Mother Nature showing us her face,” she said, as the volcano belched gas on the horizon. “It’s pretty exciting.”

Gordon Brown, a visitor from Loomis, California, could see the bright orange lava from the bedroom of his rental house. So he headed out for a close-up view with his wife.

“We just wanted … to come see this as close as we could get. And it is so bright, it just blows my mind,” Brown said.

The lava was tumbling slowly down the slope and was about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the highway known as Saddle Road. It was not clear when, or if, it would cover the road, which runs through old lava flows.

Officials were initially concerned that lava flowing down Mauna Loa would head toward the community of South Kona, but scientists later assured the public the eruption had migrated to a rift zone on the volcano’s northeast flank and wasn’t threatening communities.

The lava was flowing “not super fast” at less than 1 mph, Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said Tuesday. It was moving downhill about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Saddle Road, which connects the eastern and western sides of Hawaii’s Big Island.

The flow was likely to slow down about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) from the road, when it hits flatter ground.

It was not clear when or if the lava will reach the road.

The smell of volcanic gases and sulfur was thick Tuesday along Saddle Road, where people watched the wide stream of lava creep closer. Clouds cleared to reveal a large plume of gas and ash rising from a vent on the mountain.

“The viewing has been spectacular,” especially at night and before sunrise, park spokesperson Jessica Ferracane said.

Visitors to the park are currently able to witness two eruptive events: the glow from Kilauea’s lava lake and lava from a Mauna Loa fissure.

“This is a rare time where we have two eruptions happening simultaneously,” Ferracane said.

Mauna Loa last erupted in 1984. The current eruption is its 34th since written history began in 1843. Its smaller neighbor, Kilauea, has been erupting since September 2021.