Hawaiian Volcano Update: Kīlauea Summit Eruption’s Episode 28 - July 10, 2025

The 28th episode of fountaining of Kīlauea’s summit eruption ongoing since December arrived yesterday, July 9 at 4:10 am, lasting about 9 hours until 1:20 pm. Fountains peaked around 1200 feet or 365 meters according to preliminary USGS-HVO reports, while outputting 5.3 million cubic meters of lava. This followed a 9-day pause, although over latter days precursory gas pistoning, spattering, and flames were evident, with the first overflows from the vent around 6:30 pm on July 7. All of yesterday’s activity issued from the north vent, with the south vent inactive throughout leading to it being completely covered by new lava deposits. Lava flows remained largely in the western part of the crater near the vents, with the longest flows reaching past its center, and additional ooze-up flows fed from below the crusted crater floor near its eastern margins.

As has been the case following the end of each fountaining phase, the volcano is showing early signs of reinflating with magma, although it is too soon for the USGS-HVO to offer a likely time window for episode 26. All activity is confided to Kīlauea’s summit caldera within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, with no increased lava threat to people. There continue to be no significant changes on either of Kīlauea’s rift zones.

Cameras again caught the main burst of gas rising above 14,000 feet into the atmosphere, and combined with dominant trade winds, minimized any impact of volcanic gas and tephra fallout to the closed areas of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, keeping nearby communities and viewing areas clear. Vog and tephra remain the most common hazards for island residents, and the usual precautions and preparations apply, especially for those with respiratory sensitivities – more information at https://vog.ivhhn.org/.

Maunaloa continues to inflate quietly its established post-eruption pattern, with only small-magnitude earthquakes and minor adjustments evident on monitoring instruments. As usual, we summarize the monitoring signals, imagery, and reports for both volcanoes available courtesy of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, annotating the presentation on screen as we go and discussing live viewer questions. 

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