Parts of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park reopen to visitors

Some of the most-visited areas of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park have partly reopened after earthquakes and eruptions prompted a two-day closure.

The main entrance of the park just off Hawaii 11 reopened Sunday afternoon, providing access to the Jaggar Museum, which offers an overlook of the Kilauea volcano’s fiery cauldron.

The museum has resumed normal operating hours, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Hawaii Volcano House lodge was to reopen by 7 a.m. Tuesday. Most facilities at Kilauea Military Camp, a resort for members of the military, are open.

For now, change is the norm. “Visitors should continue to expect changing conditions and unannounced closures, as safety remains our top priority,� Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando said in a statement.

Helicopter sightseeing tours within two miles of the Puu Oo vent, a lava tube from which red-hot magma began spewing last week, are currently banned.

Residents were evacuated last week as the molten mass poured toward nearby neighborhoods.

Many park roads and most trails remain closed because of rock slides caused by ongoing seismic activity.

More than 500 tremors have struck the park since Friday afternoon, when two quakes measuring magnitudes 5.0 and 6.9, rocked the region on the south shore of Hawaii Island.

The park was closed a short time later and visitors were evacuated.

The Kilauea Visitor Center, which is past the main entrance and often the first stop for park guests, resumed regular hours on Monday. It is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Info: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

[email protected]

@latimestravel

UPDATES:

12:45 p.m., May 8. This article was updated with the Jagger Museum’s operating hours and the reopening of Volcano House Lodge and most of the military camp, as well as a statement from the park superintendent.

This article was originally published at 3:55 p.m., May 7.