GOOD EVENING.
TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WAS
BILLOWING OUT OF
HALEMAUMAU CRATER TODAY ... ONE
OF THE
BIGGEST ASH PLUMES OVER THE PAST
WEEK.
NOW .. THIS ISN'T THE BIG STEAM
EXPLOSION
THEY'RE EXPECTING.
BUT WHAT A SIGHT TO SEE.
AND ALL THAT ASH IS CAUSING SOME
HEALTH
HAS MORE FROM THE BIG ISLAND ..
HI HOWARD.
HOWARD:
MARISA OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS
MOST OF THE
FOCUS AND ACTIVITY IS CENTERED
AROUND THE
LOWER EAST RIFT ZONE WHERE THE
FISSURES
CONTINUE TO BREAK OUT. THOSE
HAVE BEEN
SPECTACULAR. BUT TODAY A LOT OF
THE
ATTENTION SHIP IT UP TO THE
SUMMIT OF THE
VOLCANO AT HALEMAUMAU CRATER
WHERE WE WITNESSED THE LARGEST
ASH
EXPLOSIONS TO DATE. IN FACT THE
PLUME WE'RE
TOLD EXCEEDING 12,000 FEET AT
ITS HEIGHT
LEADING TO WARNINGS FOR NOT ONLY
RESIDENTS BUT AVIATORS.
For Susan Cabral And her husband
Randy the morning started in
dramatic fashion.
Susan Cabral volcano village
resident: The awe of this
force of nature as you look at
this? It's unbelievable it's
spectacular and it's frightening
at the same time.
It's going to depend on which
way the wind blows.
From her home in volcano
village, about 3 Miles from
Halemaumau Crater, they watched
in amazement as
Mother Nature was on full
display. this is Pele's country
and we're just her guest
According to scientists at the
US geological survey this
was all part of the ongoing
activity at Halemaumau. And
the potential for a powerful
explosion caused by
receding lava interacting with
cooler underground water ....
still
Exists
Michelle Coombs / USGS:
"intensified today but it wasn't
the big one so to speak. does
that mean we won't a much
bigger more explosive event? no
not necessarily. it could
plug up and we could yet in the
future have the so called big
one today was more of a gradual
ramp up and it was
continuous enough that we felt
it was significant to put
out a public warning."
A Half hour or so down Highway
11 in the town of
Pahala, residents we spoke with
tell us the ash has been
raining down all morning.
going on for a while but the
past 24 hours
especially this morning big
difference? Pretty big. Air
quality. A lot more ash
....breathing wise more than
anything else
Deborah says she's seen many
ashfalls over the years.
But living downwind of the
volcano now... is much
different
Deborah Funai / Pahala Resident:
"I have anxiety about it
so it's definitely a
lot more scary"
Deborah Funai / Pahala Resident:
plumes coming, you think ashes
gonna be covered all over the
place. so trying to get things
covered up so
much as possible. As prepared
much as possible
with masks and things like that"
DASH: "Deborah says the ash
fall here has been
significant there for the past
24 hours, but the majority of
it she says, has come down just
today"
Back up in volcano The winds are
blowing in Susan's
favor... for now.
Susan Cabral volcano village
resident: "if the winds were to
change, talk about your concerns
between your
water catchment And your
animals. What we've already
taken some precautions to
detacher gutters from the
downspouts to reduce the amount
of ash getting indoor
water tanks"
BUTT TO: "The animals if we can
just keep giving them
fresh water I don't know how
it's gonna affect the pasture
but if we get a good rain it's
not so much of a concern but
if the ash gets on the grass
they feed on we don't have a
barn big enough to shelter all
of our animals."
Although Hawaii volcanoes
national park remains closed
indefinitely ... the view from
outside the park was nothing
short of spectacular.
For both visitors to the islands
... and locals who
stood there mesmerized and
watched ... in awe.
Ike Payne,Hawaiian beaches
resident: "It's creation at its
finest right now. There's a lot
of things going on and a lot of
things in Puna who are really
devastated by everything but my
gosh this is mother nature and
she is working her magic right
now "
HOWARD:
I COULD TELL YOU IT WAS SIMPLY
AMAZING TO SIT
THERE AND WATCH IT AND WE DID
FOR QUITE SOME
TIME.
AND WHILE THE ASH CAN BE AN
IRRITANT
SPECIALLY FOR THOSE WITH
BREATHING
PROBLEMS IT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY
HARMFUL
CHEMICALS. BUT STILL BEST TO
AVOID IT IF AT ALL
POSSIBLE.