(BIVN) – Lava fountains have returned to the summit of Kīlauea.

Episode 29 in the ongoing eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater got underway early Sunday morning. So far, the activity has been different compared to other recent episodes. 

As of 8:30 a.m. HST, lava fountains have remained under 200 feet high, and have been “erupting more sideways than vertically, creating an arcing fountain from the north vent,” scientists with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported. 

All eruptive activity is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. No changes have been detected in the East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

The Observatory noted that commercial airports in Hilo and Kona will not be affected by this activity. 

From the USGS Volcanic Activity Notice posted at 5:29 a.m. HST:

Episode 29 high fountains of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began around 5:15 a.m. HST on July 20. Lava fountains from the north vent gradually transitioned from low dome fountains less than 100 feet (30 meters high) to vertical fountains exceeding 200 feet (60 meters) around that time, accompanied by the onset of summit deflationary tilt and heightened seismic tremor. Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1,000 feet (300 meters) high and eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet (6,000 meters) above ground level; similar behavior may be expected within the next couple hours. According to the National Weather Service, winds are blowing from the north to northeast directions today, Sunday, July 20, which suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed to the south and southwest.

USGS webcam view shows early stages of Episode 29 in the Kīlauea summit eruption

Episode 29 was preceded by north vent lava spattering that began around 3:55 a.m., followed shortly thereafter by dome fountains and lava overflows starting around 4:11 a.m. Fountains from the north vent are reaching 330 feet (100 meters) high and feeding multiple lava streams as of 5:25 a.m. HST.

Inflationary tilt reached just over 17.5 microradians since the end of episode 28, during which it recorded 15 microradians of deflationary tilt. Seismic tremor began increasing and tilt at UWD switched from inflationary to deflationary at about 4:24 a.m. HST. Further sharp increases in tremor and deflation occurred when sustained high lava fountains began.

Most episodes of Halemaʻumaʻu lava fountaining since December 23, 2024, have continued for around a day or less and have been separated by pauses in eruptive activity lasting generally at least several days.