HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK (HawaiiNewsNow) – Kilauea’s nearly year-long eruption continued Saturday with the start of episode 38.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the latest eruptive episode began at around 8:45 a.m. with sustained lava fountains of about 50 to 100 feet.
Webcam livestreams at the summit showed the fountains developing rapidly shortly after the start of the episode.
The USGS said south vent fountain heights approached 1,200 feet. Pumice and hot lava from the vent also destroyed the V3 camera, one of the three cameras that have been livestreaming the eruption.
USGS said pumice and hot lava from the vent also destroyed the V3 camera, one of the three cameras that have been livestreaming the eruption.
USGS added that prior to the south vent becoming dominant, there were three roughly equal-sized 500-foot-high lava fountains with two from the north and one from the south.
Scientists said the triple fountain is extremely rare and is the first time it has been observed during this eruption.
USGS said that episode 38 has produced 13 million cubic yards of lava over the past six hours.
Kilauea Message 2025-12-06 15:11:39 HST. Episode 38 has produced about 13,000,000 cubic yards or 10,000,000 cubic meters of lava over the past 6 hours. The north vent is not erupting, and south vent fountains are below 575 feet. There has been 24.5 microradians of deflation.
— USGS Volcanoes🌋 (@USGSVolcanoes) December 7, 2025
Previous episodes have produced fountains over 1,000 feet high and plumes rising to over 20,000 feet.
The eruptive activity remains confined to Halemaumau crater, but volcanic emissions and volcanic material may be pushed south of the crater by winds from the north-northeast.
The ongoing eruption began on December 23, 2024. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said most episodes of lasted for a day or less, with each episodes separated by several days.
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