Scientists lower alert for Mauna Loa, say eruption could end

Scientists lowered the alert level for the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island from a warning to a watch on Saturday and said the mountain’s first eruption in nearly 40 years may soon end.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a bulletin that the eruption on the mountain’s northeast rift zone was continuing, but lava output and volcanic gas emissions were “greatly reduced.” “
Scientists said earlier this week that the road close to Mauna Loa was no longer under imminent threat from the lava, allaying fears previously that it could be cut off.
Mauna Loa began spewing molten rock Nov. 27 after being quiet for 38 years, drawing onlookers to take in the incandescent spectacle and setting some nerves on edge early on among people who’ve lived through destructive eruptions.
For many Native Hawaiians, the phenomenon has a deep yet very personal cultural significance.