March 24, 2016 Lava Love
Bright sunny skies allowed us complete access to the Pu`u O`o flow field on the east rift zone this morning. Special guest, Julia Hoskins, Bruce Omori, Leilani, Lava Ducky and I were treated to an extraordinarily good overflight today by Paradise Helicopters’ expert pilot, Ryan Moeller. The north forest continues to burn in about four places up to about 3 1/2 miles from the Pu’u ‘O’o vent. The entries observed in the forest over a 2 1/2 mile span, but activity there was weak overall. A very large pahoehoe outbreak in the middle of the flow field was a special treat… lava moving quickly, creating picturesque ropey, folding formations. With the plume from Halemaumau blowing straight up and Pu`u `O`o blowing to the east, we found magnificent views of the vent, particularly the lava lake on the western end. One skylight… a windows, or break in the lava tube on the north flank of the vent was visible, revealing a rushing river of lava below. Forest activity is now within two miles of the closest infrastructure, but is moving very slowly in that direction. Pele is not threatening any communities at this time. Pu’u ‘O’o’s plume was blowing strongly toward Hilo today, making for very voggy skies.

Mahalo to Paradise Helicopters and Bruce Omori at Extreme Exposure