Kilauea volcano in Hawaii is erupting and began doing so on the third of May. This does not necessarily mean the classic explosive eruption, though that it is possible that that will happen. Instead of sending out a shockwave, Kilauea is opening up fissures in the ground. These fissures release flows of lava, endangering forests and houses, and some are releasing high levels of the toxic gas Sulfur Dioxide. At least twenty of these fissures have been reported thus far, destroying around two dozen homes and structures.

Demian Barrios, a self-described “lava chaser,” has documented what he calls “lava bombs” being issued from some of the fissures. These “bombs” are blobs of molten lava which pressure in the fissure has propelled out an up. Barrios recorded some of this with his iPhone from the front porch of a nearby house (incidentally, one of the “lava bombs” landed on that same house). There have also been occurrences of geysers of lava being forced out of the earth by the immense pressure of the volcano.

The United States Geological Survey has issued a “red warning” urging pilots to steer their plane clear of the area around the volcano. The massive ash cloud which volcanoes are infamous for producing have a bad habit of jamming the engines of aircraft that fly through the cloud. If the engines don’t come back online in time, then the consequences could be dire. An experienced pilot could glide the plane to safely landing or crash landing, but it is nevertheless dangerous.