(BIVN) – The ongoing eruption at the summit of Kīlauea remains paused, with the expected start of the next high lava fountaining episode delayed, again, due to recent deformation patterns. 

The summit began to reinflate at about midnight, but prior deflation “has pushed back the modeled forecast window for the onset of episode 43 lava fountaining to March 10-16,” the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported on Wednesday. 

“Intermittent glow from both vents was visible in webcams overnight,” the Observatory reported. “This morning, both vents remain quiet and emitting steady gas plumes. Tremor gradually shifted from being punctuated by weak tremor bursts to more continuous low level seismic tremor in the early morning hours. One earthquake of magnitude 1 was located southeast of the summit region in the past 24 hours.”

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

USGS: “This reference map depicts the Kīlauea summit eruption within Halema‘uma‘u crater that began on December 23, 2024. As of this posting on March 2, 2026, the eruption has had forty-two episodes, with the most recent occurring on February 15. Most of the data for this map were collected during a USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory helicopter overflight on February 26, so the provided statistics are reflective of the entire eruption to this point.”

These updated statistics were provided by the USGS HVO:

Eruptive vent and tephra cone statistics through episode 42:

• Vent elevations: 1,070 meters (3,510 feet)
• Vent level below crater rim: 70 meters (230 feet)
• Vent height to surrounding lava: 35 meters (115 feet)
• Cone’s peak elevation: 1,185 meters (3,890 feet)
• Cone’s height to crater rim: 45 meters (150 feet)

Lava statistics through episode 42:

• Average lava elevation: 997 meters (3,271 feet)
• Average lava thickness: 80 meters (262 feet)
• Maximum lava thickness: 160 meters (525 feet)
• Total lava extent: 420 hectares (1,037 acres)
• Total lava volume: 242.4 million cubic meters (64.0 billion gallons)

In an incident unrelated to the ongoing volcanic activity, the National Park Service reported the death of a 33-year-old Hawaiʻi resident in a closed area of Kīlauea caldera inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. 

“Search and rescue personnel conducted operations overnight in steep and hazardous terrain,” the National Park Service stated in a Tuesday news release. “On Feb. 27, responders located the individual and airlifted him from the area. He was transported to Hilo Benioff Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.”

The incident remains under investigation, park officials say.