Check Out This Lava ‘Firehose’ Spotted in Hawaii (Video)

A spectacular “firehose” of molten lava has been flowing for some time out of a sea cliff on Hawaii’s Big Island, splashing down into the Pacific Ocean below and exploding as it hits the water.

The enormous Kilauea flow is originating from a lava tube on the southeast side of the Big Island. The lava is flowing from a tube that was exposed when an enormous, 26-acre lava delta folded away into the ocean on New Year’s Eve. The failure of the newly established land induced substantial explosions and massive waves in the location.

The lava flow, dubbed a “firehose,” began as a drizzle off the sea cliffs after the collapse, but recently elevated in intensity. The molten lava is now arcing and falling approximately 70 feet to the ocean below.

When the molten lava hits the cool seawater, the extreme temperature difference between the two liquids causes explosions capable of tossing big chunks of hot stone and debris inland near hiking trails and seaward toward a popular boating corridor.

Shane Turpin, who the locally-based Lava Ocean Tours, told the Associated Press his captains are extremely vigilant when it comes to keeping passengers safe.

When Mother Earth just wants to take a poo in privacy but can’t.

“We’ve never had an incident,” he said. “We’re always watching for what the cliff is doing. Is it moving? Are the rocks rolling down the cliff? We can actually see the changes throughout the day.”

Turpin added that the remarkable flow “is definitely the most dramatic firehose event I’ve ever witnessed in the last three decades of viewing lava.”

On land, one of the biggest worries is a large “hot crack” inside the stone above the firehose flow, according to USGS geologist Janet Babb. The crack is parallel to the sea cliff and makes the land around it prone to failure. When the large delta fell apart on December 31, it directed hot rocks and lava high into the air and massive waves were sent outward.

“The seaward side of that crack could fall away,” Babb said. “That is of great concern because if it does, it’s going to drop a lot of hot rock into the water and hot rock mixing with cool seawater makes for explosive interactions.”

Officials also say they are worried about steam coming off the thermal reactions.

“It’s super-heated steam laced with hydrochloric acid from the interaction with the seawater and has shards of volcanic glass,” Babb said. “It’s something to be avoided.”

“There’s no indication of it slowing down or stopping,” she added.

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Image credit: U.S. Geological Survey

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