Chain of Craters Road to Reopen – Hawaii Volcano Activity at 25 Year Low – What’s Next?

Last week, I reported about the latest activity of Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano the resulting road and trail closures.  Park officials have announced that the 18- mile Chain of Craters Road will reopen tomorrow (June 29th) morning after being closed since June 17th.

Some areas will remain closed and those are:

• Kilauea’s east rift is closed, including Napau Trail and Campsite, and Naulu Trail.
• The parking lot at Mauna Ulu is closed as firefighters continue to carry out fire suppression activities there that include helicopter operations.
• The park’s eastern boundary near Kalapana is closed.
• Pu‘u ‘O‘o is closed. The cinder and spatter cone is extremely unstable and its cataclysmic collapse continues.

I’m really excited to see what happens next with Kilauea.  Is this the end of an era or is Pele just taking a temporary break?  Cindy Orlando, the Park Superintendent, says,

“Eruptive activity is now at a near all time low relative to the last 25 years. Based on communications with scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, we feel confident that roads and coastal trails can be safely reopened,” said Orlando.

“Kilauea is perhaps the world’s most active volcano. We appreciate the momentary calm, but know better than to be lulled into complacency.”

Use this official park web link

to stay up to date with the most recent volcano activity and advisories.  If you go, be sure to follow advisories and stay on marked trails.