Kilauea's 43rd Eruption Rains Football-Sized Rocks on Hawaii Visitors

Lava fountains reaching roughly 1,300 feet are shooting glassy volcanic fragments, ash, and debris across Hawaii's Big Island Tuesday as Kilauea volcano erupted for the 43rd time since its current eruptive cycle began on December 23, 2024.

The U.S. Geological Survey issued a Volcanic Activity Notice at 10:54 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time, elevating the Volcano Alert Level from "watch" to "warning" and upgrading the aviation color code from orange to red, signaling a major eruption with significant ash reaching the atmosphere. The National Weather Service followed with an ashfall warning, forecasting "more than 1/4 inch accumulation of ash over Hawaii Volcanoes National Park extending to the southeast and southwest."

Tephra, the collective term for volcanic material ejected into the air, is falling across several communities surrounding the summit. The USGS reported on social media that "small tephra, or small glassy volcanic fragments, up to 1-2 inches, are falling in Volcano Village," with lighter accumulations reported at Royal Hawaiian Estates along the 24-mile marker on Highway 11. Closer to the summit, Volcano Golf Course housing and sections of Highway 11 were struck by tephra measuring up to five inches. At overlooks inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the situation was considerably more dangerous: the USGS Volcanic Activity Notice warned that "fallout up to football-sized pieces and smaller are reported at overlooks in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, creating hazardous ground conditions."

The USGS reported both the south and north vents were "currently about 1,300 feet high." Across the broader eruption series that began in late 2024, lava fountains have reached up to 1,570 feet above the vents, generating plumes that have risen as high as 30,000 feet into the atmosphere.

The hazards forced an immediate response from authorities. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closed its summit area, and Highway 11, a critical route circling the island, was partially shut on either side of the park. Hawaii County opened a shelter at a district gymnasium for residents and tourists stranded by the road closure or displaced by falling tephra. County spokesperson Tom Callis noted there were no people using the shelter shortly after it opened.

Molten rock remained confined within the summit crater and has not threatened homes or residential buildings.

The tephra types ejected Tuesday include glassy lava fragments, frothy lava known as reticulite, and the fine volcanic glass strands called Pele's hair, each presenting distinct health concerns. Volcanic ash can irritate eyes, skin, and the respiratory system. The USGS describes ash as hard, non-dissolvable in water, and both abrasive and mildly corrosive. On the Big Island, where many homes rely on rainwater catchment systems, even modest ash accumulations can clog and damage collection infrastructure.

The episodic eruptions have generally captivated residents and visitors since late 2024, but the frequency and intensity of the summit activity carry echoes of the island's more violent volcanic history. A catastrophic 1790 explosion near the summit killed at least 80 people. In 1924, more than 50 explosions sent tephra columns nearly two miles into the air, depositing ash as far as 20 miles downwind.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Kilauea's alert level remained at warning and the aviation color code at red.