HVO—100 years ago this month (October)

To set the stage for our 100th anniversary next year, we will reflect over the next few months on events leading to the founding of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory in 1912. Although Frank Perret had moved from the technical station at the edge of Halemaʻumaʻu Crater to the Volcano House Hotel on the rim of Kīlauea Caldera, he continued observing the volcanic activity. His work had gone so well that, in the first week of October 1911, key Honolulu merchants formed the Hawaii Volcano Research Association and began raising the funds needed to establish a permanent volcano observatory at Kīlauea. This Association supported HVO for several decades. For the first three months of Perret's stay on Kīlauea, the Halemaʻumaʻu lava lake level fell. It had finally begun to rise, but Perret was anxious to return to his beloved Italy and, on October 27, he left Hilo for Honolulu, where he presented a lecture before sailing away. The day before he left Hilo, Perret's service was publicly acknowledged in a Hawaii Herald (Hilo newspaper) editorial. It stated that 90 percent of tourists traveling to Hawaiʻi came to see Kīlauea, but that most were dissuaded from the trip by Honolulu residents eager to retain the tourists and their money. Thus, the Hilo editor expressed gratitude for the publicity that Perret's work on Kīlauea had generated for Hawaiʻi Island. Continued next month... HVO—100 years ago this month (September) HVO—100 years ago this month (August) HVO—100 years ago this month (July)

Hawaiian volcanoes—This month in history (October)

October 6, 1903 At 12:45 p.m., a column of "smoke" rising from Mauna Loa could be seen from points around Hawaiʻi Island and as far away as Molokaʻi. With nightfall, a bright glow became visible, confirming the suspected Mauna Loa eruption. Lava fountains 60-180 m (200-590 ft) high erupted on the floor of Mokuāʻweoweo, Mauna Loa's summit caldera, feeding flows that soon formed a lake of lava. Another outbreak of lava on the southwest flank of the volcano was short-lived. The summit eruption waxed and waned until December 8, when all activity ceased. October 5, 1963 Shortly after 3:00 a.m., the summit of Kīlauea began to subside and HVO seismographs recorded the onset of strong tremor and shallow earthquakes. Around 5:30 a.m., an eruption began on Kīlauea's upper east rift zone, the fourth in two years. Lava erupted from more than 30 fissures along a 13-km (8-mile) section of the east rift zone (right) between Nāpau and Kalalau Craters. During the night, a bright red glow was visible from Pāhoa, Kalapana, and Hilo. The short-lived eruption ceased mid-morning on October 6.