If I Were Going...: THE Day!

Finally!

It was now June 27 and USGS had moved the eruption prediction out, hinting that the 27th might not be the day. Still, I was on volcano watch. I was able to easily get into the Park. I first went to the Uēkahuna Overlook.

The vents were just smoking

So, I headed east on the Chain of Craters Road, stopping to check out the Iki Overlook.

I saw some spatter! Now, it wasn’t as robust as the brief episode the previous morning, but maybe, just maybe …

I was excited; I didn't take a photo at Iki; this is my first spatter shot from Keanakako'i

I rushed to Devastation and, wonder of wonders, I got a parking space. As I began my trek to the Keanakako'i Overlook, I ran into my buddies from the previous day; Kim, Abhi and Shirsata. Interesting that we were all on the same timeline.

We hurried there and, at first, it wasn’t nearly as robust as the brief episode the previous morning.

Would this be another false alarm?

We watched the spatter increase. Here are a few shots (warning, there will be LOTS of shots and there are hundreds I am not sharing).

Bubbling up

Starting a lava flow

You can see it flowing down the cinder cone

This is getting good

I got settled in as the crowd grew.

It was still about the same as the day before

But the spatter was getting a little bit better

Then, I realized that, in my excitement, I had left my cell phone in my car. I didn’t necessarily need it, but, should Kīlauea blow, I wanted video. So, I decided to hurry back to grab it – a mile round-trip where a good portion of the hike has no visibility to the volcano.

I suspected, based on yesterday's spatter, that I would have time to go to the car and get back before it got good.

It would be hard to walk away from this, especially with no view

Kim was gracious enough to agree to watch my camera gear (known her 24 hours and totally trusted her with thousands of dollars of gear).

Heading to the car as the incoming crowd increased

I got back and, slowly, the bubbling lava started turning into a low fountain.

Looking good

You can watch the spatter here.

Looking really good

Episode #50 Begins

At 10:10 a.m. HST, the 50th episode of this series of eruptions officially began.

I think Keanakako'i was a pretty good vantage point

And, I started shooting more photos.

Far

Medium distance

Close (I love my lens)

I took too many, but it was a FREAKIN' VOLCANIC ERUPTION and it was constantly changing.

Obviously growing

At first, it was spouting red/orange lava.

BRIGHT orange!!!

As the fountain grew, we started to see a fine mesh of black particles surrounding the fountain like a net with a plume that lifted higher than the top of the eruption.

The darker chunks around the lava are tephra

Tephra is any rocky material or particle that a volcano blasts into the air during an eruption. The word comes from an ancient Greek term meaning ashes. While the term tephra covers everything from tiny dust-like ash to large rock chunks, the locals usually use the term for an exceptionally lightweight bubbly rock that looks like honeycomb and is light enough to float on the wind.

Tephra

Harder to see, but undoubtedly in the mix was fine glass strands called Pele's hair and smaller, lighter ash.

The eruption was starting to experience small blasts in addition to the growing fountain

Kīlauea typically emits between 500 and 14,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) per day during periods of sustained eruption.

The cinder cone is covered with sulfur deposits

Trace gases (1% or less) includes hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen fluoride.

High levels of SO₂ and fine particulate matter create poor air quality and volcanic smog (vog) around the Park.

A growing cloud that, based on color, was still mainly gas and steam

The amount of debris can vary episode to episode. Episode #43 in March 2026 propelled a 25,000-foot plume that blanketed local National Park overlooks with up to seven inches of tephra and dropped football-sized fragments.

The Uēkahuna Overlook restroom roof is heavy with volcanic debris

Obviously, neither tephra nor sulfur dioxide are good for you. They can cause lung, eye and skin injuries.

Fortunately, the was a strong breeze blowing to the west and not towards us

Had the wind shifted or the fountain reached about 1,800 feet, the Park would have been evacuated.

We watched in fascination ...

... as the fountain rose higher ...

... and higher ...

... and even higher

Watch that early activity here.

Peak Activity

Rather quickly, episode #50 reached its maximum height of estimated 1,030 feet.

As high as it got

It constantly changed its shape and was accompanied by swirling tephra and smoke ...

Dramatic!

... sometimes forming twisting currents called volnadoes (volcanic tornadoes) ...

The growing fountain

Although we had blue skies and clouds, part of the eruption was slightly obscured when a couple of waves of light rain passed from the east over the Iki side of the crater between us and the volcano.

No, no, no!!!!

But, there was clarity between the waves of rain

It looked and I later heard from others that the Volcano House was fogged in with virtually no view. Now that I’ve been there, I see that for these particular eruptions, the Volcano House isn’t the best spot.

On a clear day, it might be good

As I watched, I tried to estimate, based on previous scarring, where the lava would flow.

Traveling across the crater

I expected it to be bright red, but it cooled to a ropy-looking gray/black/red ribbon almost immediately.

Lava flow

Within the gray, there was a fair amount of red and some smoke.

In sunlight, it is hard to see how far it is flowing

I clicked and videoed and enjoyed the spectacle.

My camera

What it captured

I was standing in FRONT OF AN ERUPTING VOLCANO

By the time the eruption was in full force, the crowd had grown.

Still, it wasn't as large as I expected

Some observers were tourists who had planned to see the eruption, some were folks who had arrived at the Park without even knowing there was an active episode in progress and some were locals who had driven in from nearby or across the island.

That would be a cool surprise!

Two women I talked to later in the day had completed their morning tennis game and then popped in the car to check it out.

This is my "volcano buddy," Kim

In addition to watching the volcano, I was also enjoying photographing the White-tailed Tropicbirds that were soaring around the caldera.

I had failed to get a photo of a White-tailed Tropicbird in O'ahu

I had two goals, to get a good photo of this bird…

Check!

And, to get a picture of the bird in front of the fountain ...

Check (look close)!

Check!!!!!

While they are seabirds that hunt for fish and squid miles away in the ocean, White-tailed Tropicbirds (locally known in Hawaiʻi as Koaʻe Kea) fly around active volcanoes for a few key reasons …

The heat doesn't seem to bother them

The intense heat from lava fountains and vents creates powerful rising currents of warm air (thermals) that allow the birds to soar effortlessly high above the caldera with minimal energy.

Soaring White-tailed Tropicbird

Koaʻe kea naturally nest on remote, sheer cliff faces and the steep crater walls make good site.

Nesting deep inside steep, rugged volcanic craters keeps their single egg and vulnerable chicks safe from invasive land predators like cats, rats and mongooses.

There were probably 7-10 flying around during the eruption. So cool!

Cherry on top!

See the peak eruption from Keanakako'i here.

Changing Location

After watching the eruption for awhile, I was getting a bit frustrated at the waves of rain obscuring my view and I was curious what the view was like from the Uēkahuna Overlook. So, I decided to risk leaving Keanakako'i to see what else I could see.

Was it as good across the way?

What risk? Were the roads through the Park clogged or even open? Was there parking? Would I be able to park if I came back to the Devastation lot? How much would I miss while walking back up the part of the Keanakako'i trail where you couldn’t see the volcano and while I was driving.

I decided to go for it, shooting photos as I left ...

People were coming and going

It was so hard to walk away from this

The end of the temporary trail

Taken from the paved road

And, then, a quick trot through the "blackout zone"

A couple of Nenes, oblivious to the eruption

As I left the parking lot, I saw that cars were parked all along the road going both directions on the Chain of Craters Road.

Devastation lot; Photo: NPS

As I approached the roundabout at the Park’s entrance, I saw that the road to the northwestern edge of the crater was barricaded and manned by a Ranger. Drat! I was planning to continue around the roundabout and head back to where I came from when, three cars in front on me, the Ranger pulled the barricade back and let traffic enter.

They were intermittently closing the road to manage traffic; Photo: Tom Peek

After I passed the hotel and Welcome Center (the actual Visitor Center is under construction, so the Welcome Center at KMC is standing in), I could see that the Steam Vents Overlook (the first of the three along the northwest crater rim) parking lot was full.

Lots of cars were parked along and across the road; Photo: Tom Peek

Beyond that, I could see that the road to the other Overlooks was barricaded. Just as I prepared to find a spot, a Ranger moved that barricade. I was able to get all the way to the Kīlauea Overlook to park; the Uēkahuna Overlook stayed blocked. But, that’s no biggie since the two Overlooks are close to each other and linked by a trail.

Trail between the overlooks

I was pleasantly surprised to find that ...

Although the crater rim slightly obscured the fountain at the Kīlauea Overlook ...

... the was plenty to see ...

... and hear ...

... and feel

Yep, I was so much closer here that I could feel both the heat and the vibration of the eruption.

Amazing

I walked along the edge-side trail to the Uēkahuna Overlook, where I was able to find a seat on the stone wall.

The Uēkahuna crowd

Here's a video I took ...

I was enjoying myself (and wishing Caty and Becca were there) ...

This was good

Maybe even better than Keanakako'i

I was so glad that I changed my location to get a different perspective

Here's another video ...

I wonder how many videos were taken that day

This was so much easier because it wasn’t a mile round trip by foot to get a good view. I was even able to use a flush toilet and to take a water/snack break in my car.

There was even protection in case of danger

What could go wrong?

Eventually, I started to notice that the fountain was starting to slightly deflate.

I started to be able to see through the fountain

I decided to go back to Keanakako'i to watch the eruption wind down.

This was an error

I drove back, stopping briefly to see what it looked like from the Iki Overlook.

It was still going, but not nearly as tall

When I reached Devastation, the lot was barricaded. I would have to park on the road, so I drove past, turned around and headed back so that I could look for a slot between Devastation and the exit.

My third stroke of luck: they moved the parking lot barricade and I got a spot in the parking lot!

I grabbed my stuff and started the blind hike. When I cleared the trees, the eruption was done.

I missed the end

Interestingly, it ceased at 5:10 – making it exactly seven hours long to the minute.

The official analysis listed on the USGS Kīlauea Update site, had these statements:

Episode 50 of lava fountaining in the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption at the summit of Kīlauea took place for about 7 hours on June 27, 2026.

So glad I stayed

The north vent served up a 1,030-foot-high lava fountain, the tallest since episode #43.

So, my eruption was the second highest!

The weather was beautiful and the wind cooperated by blowing almost all of the tephra southward into remote parts of the National Park with only a trace dusting of Pele's hair dropping over the town of Pāhala, 18 miles to the southwest.

A dense cloud carrying off tephra

Steady trade winds blew the plume from Kīlauea summit, lofting to around 11,000 feet in height and stretching out downwind of the crater.

Some later reports put the plume as high as 18,000 feet

Several hours into the episode after observing the north vent lava fountain begin to decline, several USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists ventured into the area northwest of Halema'uma'u crater to collect tephra samples from earlier in the episode.

The most intense tephra

They found volcanic bombs (fragments that are larger than 2.5 inches), some the size of beach balls, strewn across the tephra cone on the southwest side of Halema'uma'u crater. Despite their size, the bombs were extremely low-density and lightweight.

A close look

Episode #50 produced 6.4 million cubic yards of lava.

Most was confined to the crater floor

The cumulative buildup brought the tephra/cinder cone to a peak elevation of 3,890 feet, which is 165 feet above the crater floor.

That's about 15 feet of growth in this episode

The peak lava flow rate was 430 cubic yards per second.

Rolling down the crater

Even though I missed the end, I did not go home. I had heard that one should hang around until sunset after an episode because the gray-looking lava in the caldera begins to glow red.