Lava from Hawaii Volcano Lights Night Sky amid Warnings 

Spectators watch the lava flow down the mountain from the Mauna Loa eruption, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, near Hilo, Hawaii. (AP)
Spectators watch the lava flow down the mountain from the Mauna Loa eruption, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, near Hilo, Hawaii. (AP)
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Lava from Hawaii Volcano Lights Night Sky amid Warnings 

Spectators watch the lava flow down the mountain from the Mauna Loa eruption, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, near Hilo, Hawaii. (AP)
Spectators watch the lava flow down the mountain from the Mauna Loa eruption, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022, near Hilo, Hawaii. (AP)

Waves of orange, glowing lava and ash blasted and billowed from the world’s largest active volcano in its first eruption in 38 years, and officials told people living on Hawaii’s Big Island to be ready in the event of a worst-case scenario. 

The eruption of Mauna Loa wasn’t immediately endangering towns, but the US Geological Survey warned the roughly 200,000 people on the Big Island that an eruption “can be very dynamic, and the location and advance of lava flows can change rapidly.” 

Officials told residents to be ready to evacuate if lava flows start heading toward populated areas. Monday night, hundreds of people lined a road as lava flowed down the side of Mauna Loa and fountained into the air. 

The eruption migrated northeast throughout Monday and spread out over the side of the volcano, with several distinct streams of lava running down the hillside. 

The eruption began late Sunday night following a series of fairly large earthquakes, said Ken Hon, scientist-in-charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. 

The areas where lava was emerging — the volcano's summit crater and vents along the volcano's northeast flank — are both far from homes and communities. 

Officials urged the public to stay away from them, given the dangers posed by lava, which is shooting 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 meters) into the air out of three separate fissures roughly estimated to be 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2 kilometers) long. 

Volcanic gases wafting out of the vents, primarily sulfur dioxide, are also harmful. 

Air quality on the Big Island more generally is good right now, but officials are monitoring it carefully, said Dr. Libby Char, the director of the state Department of Health. 

Hon said air quality could deteriorate while the eruption lasts, which scientists expect will be about one or two weeks if the volcano follows historical patterns. 

Lifelong Big Island resident Bobby Camara, who lives in Volcano Village, said everyone across the island should keep track of the eruption. He said he’s seen three Mauna Loa eruptions in his lifetime and stressed the need for vigilance. 

“I think everybody should be a little bit concerned,” he said. “We don’t know where the flow is going, we don’t know how long it’s going to last.” 

Gunner Mench, who owns an art gallery in Kamuela, said he awoke shortly after midnight and saw an alert on his phone about the eruption. 

Mench and his wife, Ellie, ventured out to film the eerie red glow cast over the island, watching as lava spilled down the volcano's side. 

“You could see it spurting up into the air, over the edge of this depression,” Mench said. 

“Right now it’s just entertainment, but the concern is” it could reach populated areas, he said. 

Seeing Mauna Loa erupt is a new experience for many residents of the Big Island, where the population has more than doubled from 92,000 in 1980. 

More than a third of the island's residents live either in the city of Kailua-Kona to the west of the volcano, or about 23,000 people, and Hilo to the east, with about 45,000. Officials were most worried about several subdivisions some 30 miles (50 kilometers) to the volcano's south that are home to about 5,000 people. 

A time-lapse video of the eruption from overnight showed lava lighting up one area, moving across it like waves on the ocean. 

The US Geological Survey said the eruption had migrated to a rift zone on the volcano’s northeast flank. Rift zones are where the mountain rock is cracked and relatively weak — making it easier for magma to emerge. 

Lava could move toward the county seat of Hilo, but that could take about a week, Hon said at a news conference. 

Scientists hope the flow will parallel the 1984 eruption, where the lava was more viscous and slowed down. 

Mauna Loa has another rift zone on its southwest flank. Lava could reach nearby communities in hours or days if the volcano erupts from this area. But Hon said historically Mauna Loa has never erupted from both rift zones simultaneously. 

“So we presume at this point that all of the future activity is going to be on the northeast rift zone of Mauna Loa and not on the southeast rift zone,” he said. “So those residents in that area do not have to worry about lava flows.” 

Hawaii County Civil Defense announced it had opened shelters because it had reports of people evacuating from along the coast on their own initiative. 

The USGS warned residents who could be threatened by the lava flows to review their eruption preparations. Scientists had been on alert because of a recent spike in earthquakes at the summit of the volcano, which last erupted in 1984. 

Portions of the Big Island were under an ashfall advisory issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu. It said up to a quarter-inch (0.6 centimeters) of ash could accumulate in some areas. 

“Volcanic gas and possibly fine ash and Pele’s hair may be carried downwind,” Gov. David Ige said, referring to glass fibers that form when hot lava erupts from a fissure and rapidly cools in the air. The wind stretches the fibers into long strands that look like hair. "So certainly, we would ask those with respiratory sensitivities to take precautions to minimize exposure.” 

Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago. 

Mauna Loa, rising 13,679 feet (4,169 meters) above sea level, is the much larger neighbor of Kilauea, which erupted in a residential neighborhood and destroyed 700 homes in 2018. Some of Mauna Loa's slopes are much steeper than Kilauea’s, so lava can flow much faster when it erupts. 

During a 1950 eruption, the mountain’s lava traveled 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the ocean in under three hours. 

Mauna Loa’s volume is estimated at least 18,000 cubic miles (75,000 cubic kilometers), making it the world’s largest volcano when measured from the ocean floor its summit. 

Tourism is Hawaii's economic engine but Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth predicted few problems for those vacationing during the eruption. 

“It will be spectacular where it is, but the chances of it really interrupting the visitor industry — very, very slim,” he said. 

Tourism officials said no one should have to change Big Island travel plans. 

For some, the eruption might cut down on some travel time, even if there is more volcanic smog caused by higher sulfur-dioxide emissions. 

“But the good thing is you don’t have to drive from Kona over to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to see an eruption anymore,” Roth said. “You can just look out your window at night and you’ll be able to see Mauna Loa erupting.” 



Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore Among Those who Lost Homes in Los Angeles Fires

A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)
A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)
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Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore Among Those who Lost Homes in Los Angeles Fires

A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)
A blackened US flag flies above a charred structure after the passage of the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, on January 8, 2025. (Photo by AGUSTIN PAULLIER / AFP)

Fires burning in and around Los Angeles have claimed the homes of numerous celebrities, including Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton and led to sweeping disruptions of entertainment events.
Three awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed. Next week's Oscar nominations have been delayed. And tens of thousands of Angelenos are displaced and awaiting word Thursday on whether their homes survived the flames — some of them the city's most famous denizens, The Associated Press reported.
More than 1,900 structures have been destroyed and the number is expected to increase. More than 130,000 people are also under evacuation orders in the metropolitan area, from the Pacific Coast inland to Pasadena, a number that continues to shift as new fires erupt.
Late Wednesday, a fire in the Hollywood Hills was scorching the hills near the famed Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre, which is the home of the Academy Awards.
Here are how the fires are impacting celebrities and the Los Angeles entertainment industry:
Stars whose homes have burned in the fires Celebrities like Crystal and his wife, Janice, were sharing memories of the homes they lost.
The Crystals lost the home in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood that they lived in for 45 years.
“Janice and I lived in our home since 1979. We raised our children and grandchildren here. Every inch of our house was filled with love. Beautiful memories that can’t be taken away. We are heartbroken of course but with the love of our children and friends we will get through this,” the Crystals wrote in the statement.
Mandy Moore lost her home in the Altadena neighborhood roughly 30 miles east of the Palisades.
“Honestly, I’m in shock and feeling numb for all so many have lost, including my family. My children’s school is gone. Our favorite restaurants, leveled. So many friends and loved ones have lost everything too,” Moore wrote on Instagram in a post that included video of devastated streets in the foothill suburb.
“Our community is broken but we will be here to rebuild together. Sending love to all affected and on the front lines trying to get this under control,” Moore wrote.
Hilton posted a news video clip on Instagram and said it included footage of her destroyed home in Malibu. “This home was where we built so many precious memories. It’s where Phoenix took his first steps and where we dreamed of building a lifetime of memories with London,” she said, referencing her young children."
Elwes, the star of “The Princess Bride” and numerous other films, wrote on Instagram Wednesday that his family was safe but their home had burned in the coastal Palisades fire. “Sadly we did lose our home but we are grateful to have survived this truly devastating fire,” Elwes wrote.
The blazes have thrown Hollywood's carefully orchestrated awards season into disarray.
Awards ceremonies planned for this weekend have been postponed due to the fires. The AFI Awards, which were set to honor “Wicked,” “Anora” and other awards season contenders, had been scheduled for Friday.
The AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, which honor movies and television shows that resonate with older audiences, were set for Friday but have been postponed.
The Critics Choice Awards, originally scheduled for Sunday, have been postponed until Feb. 26.
Each of the shows feature projects that are looking for any advantage they can get in the Oscar race and were scheduled during the Academy Awards voting window.
The Oscar nominations are also being delayed two days to Jan. 19 and the film academy has extended the voting window to accommodate members affected by the fires.