Photo taken by USGS on mapping mission, August 10, 2018. The section of Crater Rim Drive has been closed since 2008, and fell into Halemaumau Crater in response to ongoing seismicity and collapse/explosion events at the summit of Kilauea.

Although it’s been more than two weeks since the summit area of Kīlauea at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was rocked by dangerous earthquakes and collapse-explosion events, the damage inflicted upon roads, trails and infrastructure across the park will take time to evaluate and repair.

The park is taking advantage of the lull in hazardous conditions to assemble a specialized team that will conduct thorough damage assessments and become the foundation of the park’s recovery plan.

“The science informs the decisions we make,” said Superintendent Cindy Orlando. “We have entered the phase of managing the park as if the hazards could return at any time, while maintaining hope that the lull in activity lasts so we can continue the momentum towards eventual reopening,” she said. “We are actively considering and making short-term repairs to safely reopen at least part of the park.”

Earlier Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey lowered the alert level of Kīlauea from Warning to Watch, but cautioned that the seismicity and collapse-explosion events at the summit, and the eruption in the lower East Rift Zone, could resume without warning at any time.

Most of the park, except the Kahuku Unit, has been closed due to increased volcanic and seismic activity since May 11. Sunday, August 19, marked the 101st day of the closure.

Volcanic activity has greatly enlarged the Halema`uma`u Crater at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park/USGS

Superintendent Orlando and other park staff are reaching out to the community in a series of Talk Story meetings to get feedback on what the future of the park should look like.

“Before the recent volcanic activity forced us to close the park adjacent to Kīlauea, we were grappling with congestion management issues,” the Superintendent said. “Do we want to return to that, or do we press the reset button? We want to hear from our communities,” she said.

The Talk Story sessions continue at the Volcano Art Center Niaulani Campus on August 21 at 1 p.m., and in Kahuku at 10 a.m. on August 23.