The eruption at Kilauea started again on Wednesday at 8:22 p.m. — one week after it paused, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. But on Thursday at 9:18 a.m., the eruption stopped.

This marks the tenth episode in the eruption that began on Dec. 23, 2024.

Episode 10 started on Wednesday night with low-level fountaining within Halemaumau Caldera. Less than an hour after the eruption started, fountains from the north vent were reaching heights up to 400 feet high and feeding multiple lava streams on the crater floor. 

On Thursday morning, HVO field crews measured fountain heights averaging 150 to 200 feet, and they observed active lava flows covering about 75% of the crater floor. Glow was seen from the south vent, but it did not erupt. 

At 9:18 a.m., the north vent stopped erupting after gradually declining in height. The end of the eruption coincided with a rapid change from deflation to inflation at the summit and a decrease in seismic tremor intensity.  

The current eruption is marked by episodic fountaining from two vents within Halemaumau, referred to as the north and south vent, which has not been seen in any of the other Halemaumau eruptions since 2020. Each fountaining episode in the eruption that started on Dec. 23, 2024, has been accompanied by a deflation of the summit region. Pauses between the fountaining episodes have been marked by an immediate change from deflation to inflation as the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes.  

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