PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) — The Latest on a volcanic eruption on the Big Island of Hawaii (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
The eight vents that sent lava from Kilauea volcano shooting into a residential part of Hawaii’s Big Island are quieting down.
Hawaii County spokeswoman Kanani Aton said Saturday the vents are currently releasing steam and gas.
The fissures opened since Thursday, when Kilauea began erupting in the Leilani Estates neighborhood.
The county has ordered more 1,700 people to evacuate because of the threat posed by the lava and toxic gas.
Aton says residents may be allowed back in to pick up medicine or care for pets if sulfur dioxide readings come down to safe levels.
New vents haven’t formed in addition to the eight but that could quickly change.
Leilani Estates is in the mostly rural Puna district of the Big Island.
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2:10 p.m.
One Hawaii resident says strong earthquakes prompted her to evacuate as Kilauea volcano unleashed lava into her neighborhood.
Tesha “Mirah” Montoya says it felt like the side of her hill was going to explode when the ground shook. She says that made her start running, and then she threw her guinea pigs and rabbits in the car.
She’s staying at a cabin with her husband and their daughter as they wait until they can return to their Leilani Estates home.
Mandatory evacuations remain in place Saturday for about 1,700 Big Island residents after numerous lava vents have opened in the ground. The lava has burned five homes.
The area is also getting swarms of earthquakes.
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1:45 p.m.
Geologists say Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano is likely to release more lava through more vents as it continues to erupt in a residential neighborhood on the Big Island.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says scientists aren’t able to forecast exactly where the lava will appear.
But they noted the most recent outbreaks were preceded by cracks in the ground and the release of steam and gas.
Lava began spewing into the sky through fissures in the ground in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on Thursday. Small lava flows formed on Saturday.
Hawaii County has ordered evacuations for over 1,700 people living in Leilani Estates and neighboring Lanipuna Gardens.
Residents are also being warned to watch out for dangerous levels of sulfuric gas.
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1:05 p.m.
Officials say lava spurting into a residential neighborhood on Hawaii’s Big Island has destroyed five homes.
Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder said Saturday that’s the total number of homes burned in the two days since Kilauea volcano began shooting lava out through vents in Leilani Estates.
The vents began opening in the mostly rural district on Thursday. There are now eight of them, though only two are active on Saturday. Each fissure is several hundred yards (meters) long.
Hawaii County has ordered evacuations for over 1,700 people living in Leilani Estates and neighboring Lanipuna Gardens.
Residents are also being warned to watch out for dangerous levels of sulfuric gas.
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10:50 a.m.
Lava is bubbling out of two vents as Kilauea volcano erupts in a residential neighborhood on Hawaii’s Big Island.
Hawaii County spokeswoman Kanani Aton says two of the eight vents that have formed since Thursday are actively spattering lava. A few others are releasing steam and gas while the oldest of the vents aren’t doing anything.
She says the vents are following a pattern of releasing steam and gas, then spattering lava and then releasing steam again before going quiet.
Hawaii County has ordered evacuations for over 1,700 people living in Leilani Estates and neighboring Lanipuna Gardens.
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10 a.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey says a total of eight fissures have opened as Kilauea volcano erupts and releases lava into a residential area on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The fissures are vents where lava is spurting out of the ground into the air. They began forming in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on Thursday.
U.S. Geological Survey geologist Janet Babb says there were eight by Saturday morning, two more than what was calculated the night before.
The lava has burned at least two homes. Hawaii County has ordered evacuations for over 1,700 people living in Leilani Estates and neighboring Lanipuna Gardens.
On Friday, a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck the area as magma shifted through the volcano.
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6:30 p.m. Friday
Sputtering lava, strong earthquakes and toxic gas jolted the southern part of the Big Island of Hawaii as magma shifted underneath a restless, erupting Kilauea volcano.
The trifecta of natural threats forced stressed out residents to evacuate and prompted the closure of parks and college campuses.
Officials say two new vents where lava was spurting out of the ground formed in the same residential neighborhood where molten rock first emerged.
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck at midday. It was the biggest of hundreds of quakes this week and the largest to strike the state in 43 years.
Residents were also warned to watch out for dangerous levels of sulfuric gas.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park evacuated all visitors and non-emergency staff. The quakes triggered rock slides on trails and crater walls.
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