(BIVN) – Intermittent lava activity continues at the summit of Kīlauea, part of the escalating build to Episode 37 and another burst of high lava fountaining.  

On Friday, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory noted overflows were alternating between the north and south vents in the caldera, “in irregular cycles all afternoon and evening.” Magma remains high in the conduit.  

The inflationary tilt appears to have leveled-off, which could result in a delay in the start of the high lava fountaining phase of the episode. The Observatory previously reported the start of the high lava fountains was most likely to occur between today and November 24th. 

This will be the first episode to occur since the federal government reopened, following its 43-day shutdown. The USGS never stopped monitoring the Hawaiian island volcanoes, nor did it stop issuing alerts for volcanic activity. However, aside from the three webcams livestreaming the events at the summit, there was a pause in the distribution of additional media. 

USGS: “USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologists approach the south rim of Halema‘uma‘u crater to make observations of episode 36 at the summit of Kīlauea. This section of Crater Rim Drive within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park was damaged in the 2018 summit collapse, and remains closed to the public.” (USGS photo by M. Patrick on November 9)

Last week, after the government reopened, the Observatory posted some of the backlog of photos taken from the closed area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. That includes a time lapse video, showing eruptive episodes 34, 35, and 36. The Observatory noted these recent episodes featured the highest lava fountains, the most volume of lava erupted, and the highest rate of lava effusion for this event, which began back in December of 2024. 

The USGS Volcano Alert Level for Kīlauea remains at WATCH, with high lava fountaining expected in the coming days, confined to the summit-area within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.