HONOLULU -- Lava has begun flowing over the weekend east of Kilauea Volcano's Pu'u O'o crater for the first time in 15 years.
Recent video shows a new lava fissure. Crews from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported that the lower fissure remained active throughout the weekend in the Kahauale'a Natural Area Reserve.
The area east of the crater is remote and off limits to the public.
"A lot of times when we get fissure eruptions we get curtains of fire, fountaining eruptions. These eruptions are very, very small fountains -- a few feet in the air. You've got really, really broad lava flows," video photographer Mick Kalber of Tropical Visions said.
The lava flow, which extended about 1 mile eastward from Pu'u O'o, halted.
Kilauea has been erupting continuously since Jan. 3, 1983, sending lava from the Pu'u 'O'o cone through a system of tubes to the ocean, where it forms new land over time.
In August, lava made a new entry point into the Pacific Ocean. The spectacular flow unleashed plumes of steam from the 2,000 degree lava hitting the sea water.
August 2006 Kilauea Lava Flow Images
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