(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea remains paused, and scientists say the next lava fountaining episode could begin in one week. 

On Thursday, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported current inflation data at the Kīlauea summit suggest that Episode 30 may start July 31 or later. 

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH. No significant activity has been noted along Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone or Southwest Rift Zone. 

USGS webcam view of the summit vent on Thursday

Summit inflation resumed immediately after Episode 29 ended on July 20, 2025. Degassing and low-level seismic tremor also persist, the Observatory says. 

From the analysis posted by the USGS HVO on Thursday:

The current eruption has been characterized by episodic lava fountaining not seen in any eruptions since the 1983–86 episodic fountains at the beginning of the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption. Lava fountains and flows have erupted from two vents within Halema’um’a’u crater that we refer to as the north vent and south vent. Each of the previous fountaining episodes lasted from a few hours to over a week and was accompanied by strong deflation of the summit region. Pauses between the fountaining episodes have been marked by an immediate switch from deflation to inflation as the magma chamber recharges and repressurizes. Fountaining episodes have occurred approximately once per week since the start of the current eruption on December 23, 2024.