Hawaii Volcanoes National Park areas reopen as tremors subside

Kilauea volcano’s recent seismic rumblings have quieted down, leading Hawaii Volcanoes National Park officials today to reopen several areas that have been closed in the past week as a precaution.

Park officials said this evening that after thousands of small tremors in the past week, “unrest and seismicity” have returned to normal levels in the volcano’s upper East Rift Zone and near Kilauea’s summit.

As a result, Chain of Craters Road and areas accessed via the road have reopened. Those areas include coastal backcountry sites, Hilina Pali Road, Kulanaokuaiki Campground, Napau, and Pepeiao Cabin. The Kau Desert Trail is also open, officials said.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists and park staff had monitored thousands of shallow low-magnitude earthquakes below the upper East Rift Zone and south of the summit caldera.

But USGS officials said in a news release that the recent decrease in seismicity and ground deformation “indicates that this pulse of unrest has ended.”

“While the unrest appears to be over, Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes on earth and conditions can change at any time,” they warned.

The public can visit the park website for updates and alerts about conditions, park officials said.