The 51st episode of lava fountaining in Halemaumau at the summit of Kilauea volcano began at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

In its 10:30 a.m. Volcano Update, HVO stated that the fountains were reaching heights of about 950 feet above ground level from the north vent. No flows or lava fountaining are erupting from the south vent. Effusion rates reached a peak of 400 cubic yards per second.

All lava flows are confined to the Halemaumau crater within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Sensors indicated that winds are blowing at 5-10 mph from the east-northeast direction. HVO notes that this suggests that volcanic gas emissions and volcanic material may be distributed in the west-southwest direction from Halemaumau. This means that it’s possible that wind may carry tephra toward the Kau District, including the communities of Pahala and Naalehu, as well as onto Highway 11 southwest of Volcano. Tephra fall is greatest within three miles of the vents, and lighter ash and Pele’s Hair may stay suspended for large distances from the vents.

As of HVO’s 10:30 a.m. update, very light fall of Pele’s Hair was reported from the Kau Desert trailhead along Highway 11. There were no reports of tephra falling in Pahala or anywhere outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The National Weather Service issued a Special Weather Statement regarding the potential impacts from Episode 51’s wind-blown tephra. NWS reported that the plume from this eruption is reaching 18,000 feet above sea level and the low-level winds from the east-northeast would move the plume southwest, towards Pahala. High-level winds from the south would move the higher plume over communities adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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A 37-year-old Paauilo man told police he had walked to the home of an acquaintance the evening of July 9 and the acquaintance chased him off the property, firing at least five shots at him and hitting him in the head.

The victim, Kawika Lundburg, identified 44-year-old Kawika Souza as the man who shot him, according to court documents filed by police.

The documents don’t state why Lundburg — who was contacted by officers while receiving treatment at North Hawaii Community Hospital for a skull fracture and related injuries — went to Souza’s house on Lower Cane Haul Road.

Lundburg said two other men were present on the property — 67-year-old Gary Dias-Souza and another he reportedly identified as Jim Robinson.

Lundburg allegedly told police that when he arrived, Souza yelled at him to “get the f—-k out of here” and “f—-k you” and started chasing him with a .22 caliber silver handgun.

Lundburg allegedly told police that Dias-Souza yelled something to the effect of, “Shoot him! Shoot that f—ka!”

Lundburg reportedly said he dived over the property gate into high grass and removed his bloody clothes because they were too heavy. He passed out for awhile before recovering enough to make his way home naked.

Robinson told police that he arrived at Souza’s house with Dias-Souza, a friend of Souza’s. He reportedly told officers that when Lundburg arrived, an altercation between him and Souza ensued.

Robinson told officers Dias-Souza exited Robinson’s vehicle to join Souza’s pursuit of Lundburg, the documents state. Robinson allegedly didn’t see a firearm but reportedly told police that from inside his vehicle, he heard about eight gunshots.

He also allegedly heard Dias-Souza say something to Souza like, “Did you hit him?” and “You’ve got to pick up the casings.”

Detectives executed search warrants related to the incident, discovering a loaded .22-caliber Winchester rifle, unspent .22-caliber ammunition, several spent .22-caliber shell casings and additional evidence.

Documents state Souza requested a lawyer and no statement was taken.

Dias-Souza reportedly told police that Souza didn’t chase Lundburg,and the altercation stemmed from a prior incident in which Lundburg stole a vehicle and left it on Souza’s property to frame him.

Documents state that Dias-Souza denied instructing Souza to shoot Lundburg and later changed his story to state that there was no altercation and that Lundburg ran for no apparent reason.

Souza was charged with attempted second-degree murder, using a firearm in the commission of a separate felony, and two counts of prohibited possession of a firearm and ammunition. His bail was set at $1.64 million.

Dias-Souza was charged with solicitation of murder. His bail was set at $100,000.

Both made their initial appearances Tuesday in Hilo District Court.

Brandon Segal, Souza’s court-appointed attorney, asked Judge Jeffrey Hawk to reduce his client’s bail.

“My client is indigent. I believe that bail currently is well in excess of $1 million. We’re asking for a bail that’ll secure his appearance in court. I’m going to ask to reduce that down at this time to $250,000,” Segal said.

Deputy Prosecutor Dwane Tegman objected to any bail reduction for Souza, citing a pretrial bail study that recommended against supervised release — a form of cashless bail.

“I would note, also, in that pretrial bail report the defendant has admitted to recent drug use,” Tegman said. “The state would note that the defendant … does have several prior convictions for violent misdemeanor offenses including abuse and assault. He also has three prior convictions for contempt of court, suggesting to the state that the defendant poses a flight risk.

“The allegations in this case are obviously very serious. The defendant is alleged to have opened fire on the complainant, hitting him at least once in the head area, causing skull fractures. He fired approximately five times. He was prohibited from even having a firearm due to his prior violence convictions.”

Tegman also asked Hawk to impose electronic monitoring and house arrest on Souza, should he post bail, and Segal objected.

“Should he be able to post the bail in this case then … asking for house arrest (and) electronic monitoring, those are not tied to the critical factor of securing his appearance in court,” Segal said. “So, we object to any additional factors or additional requirements or conditions that would require him to remain, essentially in custody … if he is able to post bail.”

Hawk told Souza he has “significant public safety concerns regarding the allegations in the case.”

“Accordingly, I’m not going to grant any sort of release in the case. I’m going to deny the request for reduction of bail at this point,” the judge said. “You will be subject to electronic monitoring and house arrest if you’re able to bail out.”

Deputy Public Defender Paul Billison said Dias-Souza makes about $1,500 a month, mostly from selling fruit, and requested that Hawk free Dias-Souza on supervised release or to reduce his bail to $50,000.

Hawk maintained bail as previously set for Dias-Souza, and ordered both men to return Thursday for a preliminary hearing.

The most serious charges for both men — second-degree attempted murder for Souza and criminal solicitation of murder for Dias-Souza — carry mandatory penalties of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, upon conviction.

Both men remain in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.

Email John Burnett at john.burnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

Mechanical problems with a water treatment plant in Hawaii have left thousands of soldiers without central air conditioning in the barracks, a spokesman for U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii confirmed Tuesday in a statement to Military Times.

Four thousand soldiers in Area North Barracks are opening windows, turning on fans or using other tools to beat the heat while the base grapples with pump issues.

On July 10, deep-well pumps supporting Army installations in central and northern Oahu started experiencing problems.

According to the garrison, only one pump is currently pushing water to the surface. To maintain essential water services, water chiller systems have been turned off. Without the chiller systems — which make up almost 40% of the daily water use — the barracks do not receive central air conditioning. The incident was initially reported by Task & Purpose.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures for the remainder of the week range from the mid-70s to the upper-80s.

Units are able to move troops to MWR facilities with central air conditioning, according to the service, but as of Sunday, no units had done so.

Repairs are underway, but an exact timeline for when the pumps will be fully functional again was not provided.

The cause of the issues has not been definitively identified, however “age and extreme heat due to ventilation system repairs are believed to be part of the cause,” said Nathan Wilkes, the garrison’s external communications chief.

The installation is prioritizing keeping safe drinking water available.

Barracks and residential housing have access to drinkable water, and plumbing and sanitation systems are operational. Wilkes also said the installation has paused irrigation systems pulling from Area North water supply.

Family housing still has air conditioning and water access, Wilkes added.

The garrison’s commander, Col. Rachel Sullivan, was scheduled to host a town hall on the installation’s Facebook page on Tuesday.