Wonderfully clear skies gave us access to the entire Leilani Eruption flow field today. The fountains of Fissure 8 are not as high as they have been, but activity within the nearly 200-foot-high cone has not lessened.
Pele [the volcano goddess] continues to generate 6 to 9 million cubic meters of lava per day from the vent. She sends this enormous amount of hot liquid rock downslope in rivers, some hundreds of feet wide and just as deep to the ocean entry some eight miles below.
The flow front is huge—2 miles across now—where two beach communities stood just three weeks ago.
Hundreds of houses were destroyed earlier this month [and] only a handful remain at the north end of Kapoho Bay, which is now solid black lava rock.
Only a few overflows were observed today and none that threatens homes at this time. More will be revealed tomorrow morning.
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