The eruption at Kilauea started again on Monday at 9:52 p.m. — six days after it paused, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. But on Tuesday at 7:23 p.m., the eruption abruptly stopped. 

This marked the eighth episode in the eruption that began on Dec. 23, 2024.

Before episode 8 started on Sunday evening, sporadic spatter started emerging from the two fountains inside Halemaumau Crater. These spatters continued to increase in intensity until Monday at 9:52 p.m., when sustained fountaining began. 

Within an hour of the eruption beginning, fountains from the north vent had grown from 50 feet to over 250 feet high and were feeding multiple lava streams. Active lava flows covered about 15-20% of the crater floor. 

On Tuesday around 7:07 p.m., lava flows and fountains stopped erupting from the north vent. The south vent stopped erupting at 7:23 p.m. By the end of episode 8, which lasted about 21 hours, lava flows covered more than half of the Halemaumau crater floor.

The current eruption is marked by episodic fountaining, not seen in any of the other Halemaumau eruptions since 2020. Each episode in the eruption that started on Dec. 23, 2024, has continued for 13 hours to 8 days. Episodes have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting less than 24 hours to 12 days.  

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.

Editor's note: This post has been updated with information from HVO regarding the end of episode 8. (Feb. 5, 2025)