The activity will continue, Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said Friday. "It doesn't look like it is slowing down," he said.
More Volcanic Vents
At least five volcanic vents have opened, Magno said, indicating that at least one home and another structure were destroyed by lava.
Hundreds of people have evacuated from Leilani Estates, a community of about 1,700 people, and Lanipuna Gardens. Harry Kim, mayor of Hawaii County, said the government will support residents, including those who want to go back to their homes to pick up some belongings.
"We have to work with them as to how we are going to minimize (the inconveniences) as best as possible," he said. The mayor said people who want to check on their homes would be allowed into the neighborhoods.
Hundreds Without Power
Cracks in Kilauea volcano's rift zone -- an area of fissures miles away from the summit -- erupted Thursday and early Friday, spurting lava near the island's eastern edge.
Video posted on social media showed lava spewing several feet into the air from a new crack in a Leilani Estates street. Aerial videos showed lava searing a long orange and smoky line through a wooded area.
Stephen Clapper was one of hundreds of residents to flee the threats from the volcanic eruption. He said he told his mother on Friday to pack a bag, just in case.
"We had to evacuate. My mother was out of portable oxygen, so that's a first concern. She's 88 years old," he told CNN affiliate KHON.
Lava set trees ablaze and threatened homes as gas spewed out of cracks in the ground. Clapper went back to the house, got his mother and the dogs, swept up some of his clothes in one arm, and took off for a shelter.
About 14,000 customers of Hawaii Electric Light lost power immediately after the earthquake. Spokeswoman Rhea Lee-Moku said power has been restored to about half of the customers, but sulfur gas levels in some areas are beyond what Hawaii Electric Light deems safe so they cannot work in those places.
"When you are exposed to that level of SO2 in the Leilani Estates area you need more protection than we have available to us," she said.
KHON reported that some viewers on the island of Oahu, about 200 miles away, felt the shaking.
Jeremiah Osuna, who used a drone to record one of the videos Thursday, said the area "sounded like if you were to put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turn it on as high as you could," according to KHON.
"You could just smell sulfur and burning trees and underbrush and stuff," Osuna said. "I couldn't believe it. I was kind of shaken a little bit and realizing how real everything is, and how dangerous living on the East Rift can be."
Concerns About Sulfur Dioxide
Destructive molten flows weren't the only concern. Volcanic eruptions can release potentially dangerous sulfur dioxide -- and fire department personnel have detected high levels of the gas in the evacuation area, the civil defense agency said.
Exposure to high levels of sulfur dioxide could be life-threatening, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Breathing large amounts of sulfur dioxide could result in burning of the nose and throat and breathing difficulties, the agency says.
Senior citizens, the young and people with respiratory issues are especially vulnerable to the gas, the state's Emergency Management Agency said.
Gov. David Ige said he's activated the Hawaii National Guard to help with evacuations and security.
"I urge residents in Leilani Estates and the surrounding areas to follow instructions. ... Please be alert and prepare now to keep your family safe," he tweeted.
Kilauea is one of the world's most active volcanoes. It's in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which closed Friday and evacuated all visitors and nonemergency staff.
Since Monday, several hundred earthquakes -- most of them around magnitude 2.0 -- have been recorded in the area. The series of quakes came after a collapse of a crater floor of Puu Oo.
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