Park loses that volcano smell
A wind shift led officials to reopen Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Thursday, two days after it was closed because of sulfur dioxide pouring from the erupting Kilauea volcano.
Jim Kauahikaua at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said noxious gas continued to rise from Halemaumau Crater, where an explosion Wednesday night blasted rocks 230 feet into the air.
But the return of northeasterly trade winds pushed the sulfur dioxide away from visitor areas, park officials said. The Big Island park had been closed since Tuesday, when 2,000 people were evacuated.
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