USGS photo taken by N. Bennington at approximately 5:00 p.m. HST on December 26.
The eruption continues at Kīlauea’s summit, Island of Hawai‘i. With Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park permission, HVO field crews—equipped with a range of specialized safety gear and PPE—monitor the current eruption from within the closed area. The west vent in Halema‘uma‘u remains active; the lava lake level has not changed. Gas emissions and seismic activity at the summit remain elevated.
The KW webcam has captured the recent shift in vent activity in Halema‘uma‘u crater wall at Kīlauea’s summit. The first image below, taken on December 25, 2020, just after 6 p.m. HST shows the northern/eastern vent as more vigorous. HVO field crews observing the activity noted that at approximately 2:40 a.m. HST December 26, 2020, activity at west vent in the wall of Halema‘uma‘u rejuvenated while the northern vent was drowned by the rising lava lake. The second image below, taken at just after 6:30 a.m. HST on December 27, 2020, shows that the west vent remains active. USGS photo.
HVO field crews were unable to observe early morning eruption activity in Halema‘uma‘u crater at Kīlauea’s summit due to high winds. Upon return to the eruption site this morning, HVO field crews noted the reduced vigor at the western vent. The northern/eastern vent remains inactive. At approximately 7:30 a.m. HST today (Dec. 27), HVO field crews measured the lava lake as 177 m (581 ft) deep. The lava lake level has not changed significantly over the past 24 hours. USGS photo by M. Patrick.
The western vent in Halema‘uma‘u crater wall at Kīlauea summit remains active but field crews monitoring the eruption this morning (December 27) noted that its vigor is somewhat reduced from yesterday. Where three open channels were observed yesterday, there are only two today. Of the three locations that have been erupting at the west fissure vent, the eastern one has slightly reduced in vigor, the central one maintains a similar level of activity to yesterday, and the western location has crusted over but is visible in this photo as a glowing hole. USGS photo by M. Patrick.