Kilauea erupts with anticlimactic ash column

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted from its summit early Thursday, shooting a plume of ash about 30,000 feet into the sky. The explosion happened at about 6 a.m. HST after two weeks of volcanic activity. More than a dozen fissures east of the crater already spewed lava into neighborhoods, destroying at least 26 homes and 10 other structures. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park closed May 11 in anticipation of a possible eruption, and officials said they didn’t expect the explosion to be deadly as long as people stayed out of the park. Communities within a mile or so of the park are experiencing light amounts of ash accumulation from the eruption, which likely only lasted a few minutes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. There have been no reports yet of refrigerator-sized boulders, a prediction that grabbed headlines last week.