HONOLULU (KHON2) — Entering the second week of the Mauna Loa eruption, representatives from science and emergency response communities provided updates on the volcanic event.
According to officials, there continues to be only one active fissure moving slowly northward in the direction of Daniel K. Inouye Highway as of Monday, Dec. 5.
By 6:30 a.m., the flow front of the lava was about 2.16 miles away from the highway, moving at a rate of 25 feet per hour.
While Hawaii County is concerned about the lava reaching the highway, there remains no threat to communities.
The aviation code was also reduced from red to orange.
According to Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth, there have been reports of people leaving the viewing area of Mauna Loa and hiking out to the lava fields.
Roth wanted to remind people that doing this is trespassing and consequences could follow.
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“It kind of ruins it for everybody else,” said Roth. “We have to close the area off because we’re putting in first responders. That becomes one of the things we’re looking at when we close Daniel K. Inouye Highway — if we do it at all.”