Update at 10:44 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Episode 38 of the ongoing episodic eruption inside Halemaʻumaʻu Crater in the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island has ended.

Kīlauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater resumed lava fountaining early Saturday at the Big Island summit. Scientists observed jets shooting tens of feet from the north vent and warned that volcanic gas and Pele’s hair could drift downwind. The eruption remains within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, though emissions may affect air quality downwind.

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii- The saga continues as Hawaii’s Kīlauea volcano erupts for the 38th time. Starting at 8:45 a.m. local time on Dec. 6, continuous lava fountaining lasted 12.1 hours, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

Past episodes have produced incandescent lava fountains over 1,000 feet high that produce eruptive plumes up to 20,000 feet above ground level. “The spilt nature of the north vent suggest episode 38 may produce lower fountains similar to episode 37 when the same two vents existed in the north cone,” the HVO reports.