VIDEO: Waiting for Lava Surge

Videographer Mick Kalber released this video of an overflight of the East Rift Zone he took with Paradise Helicopters on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018.

Kalber stated:

Fissure 8 was still effusing plenty lava this morning, but overall the activity throughout the flow field was extremely sluggish. Numerous fingers of lava pour or drip into the sea, the the volume appeared considerably reduced. This was probably due to the lack of a surge for over a day and a half. That came a few hours after we flew, and was felt this afternoon.

Dane DuPont posted this report about 5:30 this afternoon: “There were overflows due to blockages and crusting over of one of the braids of the lava seen on the levees of the lava river this morning. Near Noni Farms area (mile marker 5 and 6 on Hwy132) there was an overflow that began burning brush and trees as is spread off of the previous lava flows. The Fire Department is on scene and working to contain potential brush fires. Vegetation on the north side of the lava channel is much greener and less likely to burn the south side of the channel, which had fires spread rapidly there over the past week.”

Ryan Finlay filed this: “The low channel levels in the lava river seem to be only getting lower, and the lava river less vigorous. This is causing major disruptions as the surface of the channels crust over and become blocked. So when the surges arrive they tend to immediately overflow the channel, even during minor surge like we saw today. We expect this to only get worse and the blockages to continue to move further up the channel closer to Fissure 8, as has been observed to be the trend. Output from Fissure 8 seems like it’s declining and though that may be great news in the long term, in the short term it means that things will likely get a little bit crazier.”

The lava channel between Kapoho Crater all the way to Leilani was extremely sluggish this morning, much of it crusted over, with very little movement and glowing, jagged cracks between the huge plates of hardened pahoehoe.