Umnak Island, in the Aleutians of Southwest Alaska, experienced a rocking volcano explosion Saturday morning. Because of Mount Okmok's location in the isolated island chain, the only people immediately affected were on a cattle ranch located just six miles from the base of the 3,500-foot volcano.
Ranch owner and Arizona native Lonnie Kennedy fired up his helicopter when he heard the thunderous boom and began moving his family and ranch hands off the property towards the "Deadliest Catch" territory of Dutch Harbor.
The explosion tossed smoke and ash 45,000 feet in the air, leading PenAir to cancel two regional flights. Regular service returned by Sunday morning.
The last time this volcano exploded was 1997; that time it remained active for eight months. We're more amazed by how a cattle rancher goes from Arizona to Alaska. A-state pride, baby!
Visitors have been enjoying the show at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park since March, when a new vent exploded open in Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea. The volcano has sent a continuous flow of fluffy white gas into the sky, adding some excitement to the park's already impressive lava flows.
But Kilauea has also covered the Big Island in a haze of "vog"--volcanic fog--which is heavy in sulfur dioxide and has some island residents wheezing and worrying for their health. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been among the voggiest areas, leading rangers to close parts of the park nearest the summit, and even temporarily shutter the entire park in April.
The Big Island Visitors Bureau launched a press push this week to bring visitors back to the park, noting that the trade winds returned last Friday, pushing the vog out to sea and creating clearer viewing opportunities.
If you'd rather check the vog from a distance, the NPS has set up a webcam on the volcano.
The New Year's eruption of the Llaima volcano in Chile's Conguillío National Park has tourists fleeing for cooler pastures. The 10,250-foot-high mountain last erupted seven months ago.
About 150 tourists were hustled out of the area as the fireworks started. Early today, another 54 visitors and national park staff took off. Despite some impressive eruption images, though, things are dying down. Still, says one government official:
At this moment I would recommend against tourism in the area.
We'll admit we've been pretty friendly to Hawaii ever since they got walloped by an earthquake in October, but they've always had so much to offer active travelers. On the Big Island, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park allows you to basically walk right up to lava flows. The park surrounds some of the planet's most active volcanoes--Mauna Loa and Kilauea--so you're basically guaranteed some fireworks whenever you go.
Kilauea has been erupting non-stop since 1983, taking out roads and even a park visitor center in the process. So, step quickly and carefully when you head out for those hikes: half-day length trails are scattered throughout the park. If you're not that ambitious, there's an 11-mile crater rim drive that will get you close to some action, provided lava hasn't poured over the road. Seriously.
