Smoke rising from Napau Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is not from a new eruption, but an ongoing wildfire, reports the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
According to an HVO alert, a plume of smoke on the south side of the remote crater became visible at about 4 p.m. Sunday, and an intermittent glow was visible overnight in the same area, just south of the vents formed during the middle East Rift Zone eruption of Kilauea volcano between Sept. 15 and Sept. 20.
An HVO overflight at about 11:30 a.m. Monday confirmed that the smoke and glow were due to a small, local wildfire located in a similar area to wildfires observed during the September eruption.
No geophysical monitoring instruments recorded activity indicating an ongoing or imminent eruption. The volcano’s alert level and color code remain at “advisory” and “yellow,” respectively.