Lyman Museum Presents ‘Pele’s Dance Across Lower Puna’

Spatter cone and lava on Pāhoa—Kalapana Road on March 14, 1955. Photo by Gordon A. Macdonald, courtesy of HVO.

Lyman Museum will kick off Volcano Awareness month in January with two presentations exploring Kīlauea Volcano’s historic 1955 East Rift Zone eruption.

Presented by USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Frank Trusdell and HVO photo archive volunteer Ben Gaddis, the events will be held on Monday, Jan. 8, from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and on Tuesday, Jan. 9, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Lyman Museum in Hilo.

Trusdell and Gaddis will present maps, photos and films describing the historic lava flow that swept across some 3,900 acres of lower Puna on Hawai‘i Island in 1955. Coastal communities from Kalapana to Kapoho were evacuated during the event, which buried entire sections of public road up to the coastline before it abruptly ended 88 days after beginning.

The public presentations will be free of charge to Lyman Museum members and $3 for non-members. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for the evening program. Limited seating will be available on a first come, first seated basis. Additional parking will be available at Hilo Union School on Monday evening only.