Hawaiʻi County Opens Tephra Information Center in Volcano After Kīlauea Episode 43

Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense, the American Red Cross, and local Community Emergency Response Teams opened a tephra information center at the Cooper Center in Volcano on Wednesday to help residents recover from Episode 43 of Kīlauea's ongoing episodic summit eruption, which blasted lava fountains up to 1,300 feet into the air the day before.

The center is staffed today from noon to 4 p.m. and will return Thursday, March 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Residents, businesses, and visitors can stop in to learn how to clean tephra from their homes, protect water catchment tanks, and submit requests for assistance. Requests can also be filed through the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense website.

Episode 43 began at 9:17 a.m. Tuesday, March 10, and sustained about nine hours of high lava fountaining before ending shortly before 6:30 p.m. The U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that volcanic glass known as Pele's hair and fine ash reached Hilo and Puna, while larger tephra, including chunks up to 3 inches in diameter, fell in Volcano Village and Mauna Loa Estates. The National Weather Service in Honolulu had issued an ashfall advisory until 11 p.m. Tuesday for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and southeast Hawaiʻi Island, but canceled it after the episode ended and tephra fall dissipated.

The health risks are significant for anyone who was outdoors or has an open-air water system. Volcanic tephra, including ash, can irritate eyes, skin, and the respiratory system. Tephra can also clog and cause other problems with water catchment collection systems, a concern in Volcano-area communities where many homes rely on rooftop catchment for their water supply.

The cleanup extended well beyond private property. The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation worked through Tuesday night to reopen Highway 11 near Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. By 6:30 p.m. Tuesday the road was cleared up to mile marker 27.5 at Volcano Village, but the stretch from mile 27 to mile 32 at Namakani Paio remained closed. Just after 8:30 p.m., Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense estimated another four hours would be needed to fully clear tephra from the roadway.

Three public swimming facilities also shut down pending cleanup: NAS Swimming Pool, Charles "Sparky" Kawamoto Swim Stadium in Hilo, and the Pāhoa Community Aquatic Center. All three are closed until further notice to allow crews to remove volcanic materials from the pools.