Kilauea’s eruption at the summit resumed Jan. 24 at 11:28 p.m., with fountain-fed lava flows erupting out of the north vent. But the next day at 12:36 p.m., the north vent stopped erupting and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory announced the eruption had paused. 

This marked the sixth episode in the eruption that began on Dec. 23, 2024.

It is likely that another eruptive episode could start between now and Friday if inflation rates remain steady, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Before Episode 6 started on Jan. 24, sporadic spatter fountains began around 6 p.m. The fountaining slowly increased in intensity until 11:15 p.m., when sustained fountaining began. 

The next morning, fountaining began to gradually decline. By the time the eruption paused shortly after noon, lava had covered nearly half of the floor of Halemaumau crater. 

On Sunday night, spots of orange glow were still visible on the crater flow as the lava cooled. A bright glow from the north vent indicates that magma remains close to the surface.   

The current eruption is marked by episodic fountaining not seen in any of the other Halemaumau eruptions since 2020. Each episode of lava fountaining in the eruption that started on Dec. 23, 2024, has continued for 14 hours to 8 days. Episodes have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting less than 24 hours to 12 days.  

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.