10,000 and Counting

Can you imagine a natural event that goes on for 10,000 days and is still happening? Do you know how long 10,000 days is? It’s 27 years, plus a little more than four and a half months.

That’s how long Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island has been erupting nonstop – since January 3, 1983.

The volcano’s east rift zone cracked open on that day; they call it the Pu’u ‘O’o (“Hill of the Digging Stick” vent. A summit vent also opened up two years ago, on March 19, 2008.

If you’ve never seen an eruption close-up, you’re missing one of the most spectacular sights you will ever see in your life.

I’ve seen many eruptions, including the historic 1959 Kilauea Iki and 1960 Kapoho fountains when I was a kid in Hilo. Halemaumau Crater eruptions are also spectacular. I’ve been to a couple of those. You can drive right up to the rim of the deep caldera and look down at a huge many-square-mile pool of molten rock sloshing around like water.

The heat is tremendous! During the Kapoho eruption, I remember standing miles away and feeling as though I were right in front of a roaring fireplace. My face felt like I had a bad case of sunburn. And the sound! The sound was a deafening roar that reached down deep and set my soul a-tremble.

All I can say about the 10,000-day record is … Rock On, Madam Pele!