CNN –
Days after rare dual volcanic eruptions in Hawaii, officials are asking people not to park along a key road as lava flows nearby.
Kilauea, located inside Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, has been active for more than a year, and neighboring Mauna Loa erupted on Sunday.
Hawaii officials have said the simultaneous eruptions of Mauna Loa and Kilauea on the Big Island do not threaten nearby homes or infrastructure.
But by Tuesday, lava from Mauna Loa had flowed to a point about 4.5 miles from Saddle Road, the main road through the center of the Big Island, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In response, Hawaii County Civil Defense is urging drivers not to park along Saddle Road. “HPD will issue citations and tow vehicles parked between mile markers 16-31,” the agency said in a Facebook post.
This week marked the first time in nearly 40 years that the two volcanoes, which are about 21 miles apart, have erupted together. The rare sight became even more spectacular on Tuesday when two new lava flows were seen flowing from Mauna Loa, according to the geological agency.
National park officials say the double eruption will attract many visitors looking for a glimpse of the glowing rock.
And while there are no known immediate risks to property, air quality could be affected by hazards such as vog or volcanic smog, state officials have warned. Volcanic gas, fine ash and Pele’s hair (strands of volcanic glass) could be carried downwind, according to the geological study.
Hawaii’s health department warned residents and visitors that they should be prepared for compromised air quality, including “vog conditions, airborne ash and sulfur dioxide levels for increase and fluctuate in various areas of the state.”
Children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions should reduce outdoor activities that cause heavy breathing and reduce exposure by staying indoors and closing windows and doors if foggy conditions develop, it said. say the health department.
Hawaii Governor David Ige signed an emergency proclamation on Tuesday to direct resources and aid the response to the Mauna Loa eruption. The state’s National Guard is also on standby and the state’s Emergency Management Agency has activated its emergency operations center, said Gen. Ken Hara, adjutant general of the Department of Defense the state, during a press conference.
Watch: CNN flies over America’s most active volcanoes
04:13 – Source: CNN
Mauna Loa’s eruption earlier this week was significant beyond the rarity and excitement of witnessing dual eruptions. For native Hawaiians, the sites of the eruptions have cultural significance. “While an eruption is an exciting experience, keep in mind that you are observing a sacred event. Kīlauea Volcano and Mauna Loa are wahi kapu (sacred landscapes) surrounded by historic sites,” the national park website says.
At 13,681 feet above sea level, Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, spewed fountains of lava up to 200 feet high on Monday, according to the Geological Survey. The eruption was concentrated in Mauna Loa’s northeast rift zone, where lava flowed from at least one fissure in the volcano, the geological survey said.
“Based on past events, the early stages of a Mauna Loa rift zone eruption can be very dynamic, and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly,” the Geological Survey said earlier of this week
The eruption and lava flow have also cut power and blocked access to a critical climate tool used to maintain the so-called “Keeling curve,” which is the authoritative measure of atmospheric carbon dioxide and the vital scientific evidence for the climate crisis. The Keeling curve plot is composed of daily carbon dioxide concentration measurements taken at Mauna Loa since 1958.
“It’s a big thing. This is the central record of the current understanding of the climate problem,” said Ralph Keeling, a geoscientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and the son of the creator of the Keeling Curve.