HVO bids farewell to its Uēkahuna location — USGS Volcano Watch

"Time to go"… words that none of us at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) wanted to hear.

A view of Halemaʻumaʻu from within the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory tower at the Uēkahuna bluff in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The tower, which has been removed, provided views of Kaluapele (Kīlauea's summit caldera), the upper portion of the rift zones, and Mauna Loa. USGS photo taken on May 18, 2018

It was May 16, 2018, and HVO staff had been in the throes of monitoring Kīlauea's lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit caldera collapse for the previous two weeks. HVO’s building—located on the rim of Kaluapele (Kīlauea’s summit crater)—was being shaken apart by as many as 400 earthquakes per day. Cracks in the floors and walls enlarged and multiplied as did concern for HVO staff working there, until those inevitable words were spoken. As we reluctantly left our offices that day, little did we know that we’d never work there again.

Despite vacating our cherished workplace, HVO had a job to do, so staff carried on from temporary offices in Hilo without missing a beat. We didn’t have time to ponder the fate of our building, although we harbored hope that it could be repaired. At the time, our focus was solely on responding to the ongoing destructive lava flows and summit collapse at Kīlauea.

It was only after the 2018 volcanic crisis ended that HVO staff learned that damage to the building was deemed too extensive for it to be safely reoccupied. News that the building would be razed was devastating.

HVO's history began in 1912, when geologist Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr., who recognized the need for continuous monitoring of Hawaiʻi’s active volcanoes, secured funding to build a structure on the northeast rim of Kaluapele, near the present-day Volcano House. After that structure was removed in 1940, HVO staff shared space with National Park staff for two years in what is now the ‘Ōhi‘a Wing near Volcano House. The observatory then occupied a building at the site of today’s Kīlauea Visitor Center until 1948, when HVO relocated to an existing building at Uēkahuna on the west rim of Kaluapele.

In 1986, HVO moved into a larger facility constructed adjacent to the original crater rim building, which was returned to the National Park Service and converted to the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum. The 1986 building remained the home of HVO until 2018.

HVO’s summit location was ideal for monitoring Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, Hawaiʻi’s two most active volcanoes. The tower atop the building provided unobstructed views of both volcanoes, which proved especially helpful when a lava lake opened in Halema‘uma‘u at the summit of Kīlauea in 2008.

HVO staff, from 1948 through 2018, realized what a privilege and inspiration it was to work within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park from the buildings at Uēkahuna. The site provided spectacular views from which we could readily observe Kaluapele and Kīlauea’s upper rift zones. Hundreds of volunteers and visiting scientists from around the world, as well as countless students came to HVO to learn about and experience the only USGS observatory located at the summit of an active volcano.

Volcanoes rarely erupt at the convenience of humans, so HVO staff must sometimes work around the clock when monitoring an eruption. As a result, HVO’s building was like a second home to many staff, so its loss feels personal.

Deconstruction of HVO’s building at Uēkahuna is now almost complete. For all of us who worked there, saying that we are sad is a profound understatement. The loss of such an iconic facility is truly the end of an era.

We take comfort in knowing that part of the building was taken down in such a way that materials from it can be used elsewhere. For example, rocks from its outer walls are being used in the construction of HVO’s new field station near Kīlauea Military Camp in the National Park. Like the former buildings at Uēkahuna, the new field station will allow HVO staff to reach field sites on Kīlauea within minutes, when necessary, to repair monitoring instruments or document volcanic activity.

Another USGS facility, currently under construction at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, will provide office and lab space for HVO and the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC). Until then, HVO continues to fulfill its mission from temporary quarters in Hilo and Keaʻau.

As HVO transitions to new environs, those of us who worked from the buildings on the rim of Kaluapele are grateful for the experience and fondly remember our years there.

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Volcano Watch is a weekly article and activity update written by U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and affiliates.