USGS V3 camera destroyed by lava fountain during Kīlauea’s Episode 38, Hawaiʻi

A powerful lava fountain from Kīlauea’s Halemaʻumaʻu crater, Hawaiʻi, destroyed the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s V3 streaming camera at around 10:00 HST (20:00 UTC) on December 6, 2025. The camera was recording live when an inclined fountain from the south vent buried it in hot pumice and tephra during Episode 38 of the ongoing summit eruption.

The destruction occurred during a rare triple-fountain event at Kīlauea’s summit.

The eruption began at 08:45 HST from the north vent and, within minutes, expanded to include a second vent in the south cone. By 09:15 HST, all three vents were erupting simultaneously, producing fountains up to 150 m (500 feet) high. Around 09:40 HST, the south vent became dominant, generating inclined fountains exceeding 300 m (1 000 feet).

Hot pumice and molten spatter from this south vent reached the V3 streaming camera site on the south rim of Halemaʻumaʻu crater just before 10:00 HST. Video released by the U.S. Geological Survey shows the final seconds of the camera feed as the lens was obscured by tephra, and the transmission abruptly ended. The device was later confirmed destroyed by direct impact and burial.

Episode 38 lasted 12.1 hours, producing about 12 million m³ (16 million yd³) of lava and generating a plume that rose more than 6 km (20 000 feet) above sea level. Despite the intensity of the eruption, all activity remained confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.