April 14, 2016 Steamy Flow Field
Rainy skies over East Hawaii recently made our overflight this morning much more atmospheric, although we were unable to access the Pu’u ‘O’o vent. Leilani the Hula Girl and Lava Ducky were both on board, along with special guest, Chris Smith. Bruce Omori and I joined world class Paradise Helicopters’ pilot, Ryan Moeller. Activity was greatly subdued today, but heavy steam through the flow field indicated plenty of hot stuff below the surface. Forest entries were scattered and weak along the northern boundary, extending to about 3.5 miles from the vent. There were only occasional breakouts throughout most of the rest of the flow field. Pu’u ‘O’o’s north flank continues to be active, but with no lava appearing on the surface… and only one small skylight allowed us a quick glimpse inside, where lava continues to flow by. We were unable to see anything inside the vent, including the lava lake on the western end of Pu’u ‘O’o, as the steam clouds and vent’s plume obscured our view. All activity remains about two miles or more away from the closest infrastructure, and is not threatening any communities at this time. No lava was evident toward east, anywhere near the crack that carried lava downslope to Pahoa about 18 months ago. Pu’u ‘O’o’s plume was blowing strongly toward the south today. Skies in east Hawaii were mostly cloudy today, with infrequent rain showers and wonderfully clean air.

Mahalo to Paradise Helicopters and Bruce Omori at Extreme Exposure