Hawaii residents near volcano deal with falling ash, toxic gas, fears of the 'big one'

CNN ^ | Tue May 15, 2018 | Holly Yan, Madison Park, Scott McLean and Steve Almasy,

[BenLurkin]

Fissure 17 is the longest and has been shooting lava like a fountain and "sending spatter more than 100 feet into the air," the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

It is more than a mile long but its advance has slowed to 20 yards per hour, slightly more than a quarter-mile a day.

Coombs said the fissure had diminished in intensity, but officials said activity can go up just as quickly as it goes down.

Still, many of the fissures are emitting "quite a bit" of sulfur dioxide.

Two new fissures are small with not much lava coming from them, she said.

CNN's Stephanie Elam said her heart started pounding as she approached one fissure.

"It sounded like hammers in the dryer," she said. "The molten rock was such a deep vibrant orange that it looked technically altered. When the sulfur dioxide hit my lungs once, it took my breath away."

The Hawaii State Department of Health is asking the general public to avoid any area with fissures because the gases emitted require special cartridge respirators.

[Ozark Tom]

Landslide is an option with a volcano experiencing earthquake.