Overview
- The 48th lava‑fountain episode began about 04:40 a.m. local time on June 1, 2026, sent fountains to roughly 200 metres, produced an ash plume to about 7,300 metres, and lasted around nine hours.
- The new count of 48 separate fountain episodes exceeds the previous single‑eruption record of 47 set by the Puʻuʻōʻō eruption in the 1980s.
- Ash, tephra and ballistic volcanic rock fell across Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Highway 11 and nearby communities, prompting ashfall warnings and an aviation alert at Orange.
- The U.S. Geological Survey and Hawaii Volcano Observatory are keeping instruments and crews at elevated alert because seismic and deformation data suggest a 49th episode may be preparing.
- The eruption, which has issued lava from summit vents since December 2024, is reshaping the crater and local terrain and could cause continued park closures, road impacts and local disruptions; a preliminary estimate of about 5.6 million cubic metres of lava for the June 1 episode remains provisional.