HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – For the first time, Navy Week is being held in Hawaii. From March 9 – 15, Sailors (majority based on Oahu) and also abroad Hawaii namesake vessels will be here to learn more about the culture, the people, and the communities in which the are stationed at and ultimately, serve through service projects to education by visiting local schools to share more about the Navy resources and satellites, buoys and water currents, and speaking engagements with senior ranking Navy officers to include Rear Admiral Ryan Mahelona who is the third Native Hawaiian to reach this rank, a local boy, born and raised in Kaneohe who graduated from Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama Campus.

Commander Daniel Jones, commanding officer of the USS Hawaii and Commander David Taweel will join Jonathan on Wednesday, March 11, 2026 to talk about Navy Week in Hawaii.

The Rally Point is a new show that airs every other Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on all of HNN’s platforms.

Host Jonathan Masaki, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, will focus on engaging conversations with military service members and defense department civilians and contractors on military-related issues that impact Hawaii and our community.

Watch a recap here:

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.

HONOLULU — The latest lava fountaining episode of an erupting Hawaii volcano reached 1,000 feet high Tuesday, prompting temporary closures at a national park and part of an important highway because of falling glassy volcanic fragments, including ash.

Kilauea, on Hawaii’s Big Island, has been dazzling residents and visitors for more than year with an on-and-off eruption that periodically sends fountains of lava soaring into the sky.

The fountaining that began Tuesday morning marked the eruption’s 43rd episode since it began in December 2024. A livestream showed two fountains of bright-red lava and smoke. It’s unclear how long the fountaining will last. Some episodes have lasted a few days and others a few hours.

Like other times, the molten rock was confined within Kilauea’s summit crater inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and hasn’t threatened homes or buildings.

But the lava fountains were creating trouble for neighboring communities and a highway where the volcanic fragments and ash, known as tephra, was falling. The tephra prompted temporary closures at the national park around the summit and a partial closure of Highway 11, an important route around the island, on either side of the park.

Hawaii County officials also opened a shelter at a district gymnasium for residents and tourists impacted by the road closure or falling tephra. There were no people using the shelter soon after it opened, said Tom Callis, a county spokesperson.

The National Weather Service issued an ashfall warning.

Volcanic tephra can irritate eyes, skin and the respiratory system, according to county officials. Tephra also can clog and cause other problems with water catchment collection systems, which are common in some parts of the Big Island, officials said.

Ash fell so heavily during a previous fountaining episode that some communities needed help from county civil defense workers to clean up ash that coated their homes, Callis said.

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes.

HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK (HawaiiNewsNow) – The U.S. Geological Survey has upgraded the Kilauea alert level to a Volcano Warning due to fallout of the latest high-fountaining at Halemaumau crater.

The National Weather Service also issued an ashfall warning until 5 p.m. Tuesday for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and communities to the northeast, including Volcano, Glenwood and Mountain View.

Episode 43 began Tuesday at 9:17 a.m. HST with more than a quarter-inch of accumulated tephra, including ash and other volcanic particles, reported within the first 90 minutes.

The USGS said fallout up to the size of footballs was reported at lookouts within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, creating hazardous ground conditions.

The National Weather Service said the plume from this episode rose to 25,000 feet. Surface level winds are reported coming from a southerly direction, which means that volcanic gas emissions and fallout may be distributed to areas northeast of the summit.

Communities adjacent and downwind of the eruption need to take necessary precautions for elevated tephra fallout and volcanic gases.

Closures in effect, shelter open

Highway 11 is closed on either side of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (HVNP) at mile markers 24 and 40. HVNP is also closed.

The County of Hawaiʻi has opened a shelter at Kaʻū District Gym, 96-1219 Kamani St., Pāhala, for residents and visitors impacted by the road closure or falling tephra.

Safety information

Volcanic tephra, including ash, can irritate eyes, skin, and the respiratory system. Take necessary precautions to limit exposure.

• If you have a respiratory condition, avoid contact with ash. Stay indoors until it is safe to go outside.
• Close doors and windows, where possible.
• Wear masks, gloves and eye protection when in contact with ash.
• Do not drive in heavy ashfall.

Tephra also can clog and cause other problems with water catchment collection systems.

• Temporarily disconnect the gutters feeding into the tank. Do not reconnect the system until the volcanic hazards (i.e. ash, laze, Pele’s hair in the air) have passed and the ash and debris are washed off the roof, out of the gutters and the tank.

Use caution when clearing rooftops of ash.

Road closures may occur without warning.

Click here for updates on Kilauea.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.