Residents of Hawaii’s Big Island were warned to shelter in place after the explosive eruptions geologists had warned about began.
PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) – Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano spewed ash nearly six miles (30,000 feet/9 km) into the air on Thursday and scientists warned this could be the first of a violent string of explosions in the crater.
„This has relieved pressure temporarily,“ USGS geologist Michelle Coombs told a news conference in Hilo. „We may have additional larger, powerful events.“
Residents of the Big Island were warned to take shelter from the ash fallout as toxic gas levels spiked in a small southeast area where lava has burst from the ground since the eruption began two weeks ago, authorities said.
The wind could carry Kilauea’s ash plume as far as Hilo, the Big Island’s largest city and a major tourism center, the County of Hawaii Civil Defense warned in an alert.
„Protect yourself from ash fallout,“ it said.
Geologists said the 4:15 a.m. (10:15 a.m. EDT) explosion was likely the first in a series of steam-driven explosions last seen 1924, rather than „the big one“ that nervous residents had been fearing.
A spike in toxic sulfur dioxide gas closed schools around the village of Pahoa, 25 miles (40 km) east of the volcano, where fissures have destroyed 37 homes and other structures and forced about 2,000 residents to evacuate, health officials said. National guard troops were forced to put on gas masks at a nearby road intersection, according to a Reuters reporter.
USGS geologists and staff were evacuated from the Kilauea summit shortly before the blast and a webcam showed a gray plume of ash and chunks of magma known as pyroclasts that showered the volcano’s slopes.
See more from the Kilauea eruptions:
‚TALL BUT SMALL‘
But the eruption was short-lived, said Coombs who called it „a big event that got people’s attention, but did not have widespread impact“.
„Tall but small,“ she said of Thursday’s plume.
An aviation red alert was in effect due to risks that ash could be carried into aircraft routes and damage jet engines, USGS said. Passenger jets generally cruise at around 30,000 feet, the height of Thursday’s plume.
Pahoa fire station on Thursday morning recorded a „red level“ of sulfur dioxide, meaning it would cause choking and an inability to breathe, Fenix Grange of the Hawaii Department of Health told a news conference in Hilo.
„If it’s red, it’s get out of Dodge,“ She said. „We’re trying to create a ring around sulfur dioxide so we can protect people.“
See residents who were displaced by the eruptions:
22 PHOTOS
Hawaiians impacted by the Kilauea volcano eruptions
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Hawaiians impacted by the Kilauea volcano eruptions
Carolyn McNamara, 70, hugs her neighbor Paul Campbell, 68, at an evacuation center in Pahoa after moving out of their homes in the Puna community of Leilani Estates after the Kilauea Volcano, one of five on the island, erupted on Thursday after a series of earthquakes over the last couple of days, in Hawaii, U. S., May 4,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Residents of the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions, who were evacuated from their homes due to eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano, pick up supplies at a community donation center on Monday in Pahoa, Hawaii, U. S., May 7,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Piper Lynn, 37, center, eats a meal at a community donation center with her children, Kiera, 13, and Zachary, 2, from left, and her husband, Matthew Herrera, after the family was evacuated from their home due to eruptions of the nearby Kilauea Volcano on Monday in Pahoa, Hawaii, U. S., May 7,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Piper Lynn, 37, center, picks up a meal at a community donation center with her children, Jacob, 15, Zachary, 2, and Kiera, 13, from left, after the family was evacuated from their home due to eruptions of the nearby Kilauea Volcano on Monday in Pahoa, Hawaii, U. S., May 7,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Residents of the Leilani Estates subdivision pass a checkpoint while driving to their homes to pick up belongings after being evacuated due to eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano on Monday in Pahoa, Hawaii, U. S., May 7,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Brandi Barnard, 30, right, a resident of the Leilani Estates subdivision who was evacuated from her home due to eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano, picks up clothing for her children at a community donation center on Monday in Pahoa, Hawaii, U. S., May 7,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Red Cross volunteer Marilani Marciel, 59, watches donations arrive at an evacuation center in Pahoa for residents of the Puna communities of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens who were forced to leave their homes after the Kilauea Volcano erupted on Thursday in Hawaii, U. S., May 4,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Ron McLain, 58, watches as his husband, Michael Berry, 68, offers water to their dog at an evacuation center in Pahoa after moving out of their home in the Puna community of Leilani Estates after the Kilauea Volcano erupted on Thursday in Hawaii, U. S., May 4,2018.
Audrey Meyer, 49, sits with her daughters, Nicole, 7, left, and Sarah, at an evacuation center in Pahoa after moving out of their home in the Puna community of Leilani Estates after the Kilauea Volcano erupted on Thursday after a series of earthquakes over the last couple of days, in Hawaii, U. S., May 4,2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester
Police check the identity of returning evacuees to Leilani Estates near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 7,2018, after the residents were forced to evacuate following recent earthquakes and concern over toxic sulphur dioxide. – More than two dozen homes have been destroyed and dozens more are threatened by red-hot lava seeping from the Kilauea volcano, the most active in Hawaii, civil defense officials said. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
A fireman walks past a sign leading to the entrance of Leilani Estates where evacuees have been returning to gather their belongings near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 7,2018, after the residents were forced to evacuate following recent earthquakes and concern over toxic sulphur dioxide. – More than two dozen homes have been destroyed and dozens more are threatened by red-hot lava seeping from the Kilauea volcano, the most active in Hawaii, civil defense officials said. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)
PAHOA, HI – MAY 06: Parishioners pray during Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Church on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 6,2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii. One parishioner from the church had their home destroyed by the recent lava flows in the area. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the island May 4 along with new eruptions from the Kilauea volcano. The volcano has spewed lava and high levels of sulfur dioxide gas into two nearby communities, leading officials to order 1,700 to evacuate in the area. Officials have confirmed 26 homes have now been destroyed by lava in nearby Leilani Estates. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
PAHOA, HI – MAY 06: Evacuees Stacy Welch (L) and her daughter Maddy (C) check a map provided by a volunteer showing lava destruction in their Leilani Estates neighborhood on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 6,2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the island May 4 along with new eruptions from the Kilauea volcano. The volcano has spewed lava and high levels of sulfur dioxide gas into two nearby communities, leading officials to order 1,700 to evacuate in the area. Officials have confirmed 26 homes have now been destroyed by lava in Leilani Estates. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
PAHOA, HI – MAY 06: Parishioners pray during Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Church on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 6,2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii. One parishioner from the church had their home destroyed by the recent lava flows in the area. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the island May 4 along with new eruptions from the Kilauea volcano. The volcano has spewed lava and high levels of sulfur dioxide gas into two nearby communities, leading officials to order 1,700 to evacuate in the area. Officials have confirmed 26 homes have now been destroyed by lava in nearby Leilani Estates. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
PAHOA, HI – MAY 06: Residents jam a street after being allowed to briefly return home to check on belongings and pets in an evacuation zone near volcanic activity on Hawaii’s Big Island on May 6,2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the island May 4 along with new eruptions from the Kilauea volcano. The volcano has spewed lava and high levels of sulfur gas into two nearby communities, leading officials to order 1,700 to evacuate in the area.
