Dear family and friends on the mainland and beyond.
Thank you for your concern for our well being. If you’ve been watching the news, you know that the Hawaiian Islands are experiencing some significant volcanic activity right now. Please don’t worry, the Yates family is fine, well and safe.
The volcanic activity that you’ve been seeing on the news is on the Big Island of Hawai’i. We live on Oahu which is roughly 200 miles and several islands (and a long stretch of Pacific Ocean) away from us. There are no active volcanos on Oahu. And the winds have been kind to us (so far). Here on Oahu we do sometimes have to put up with Vog (see below) that will blow up this way. But not right now!
There’s no telling how long this activity will continue. And it is certainly upsetting to everyone who lives in the vicinity of the volcano and it’s fissures. We wish them all well.
If you’d like to learn more, the United States Geologic Survey (USGS) has regularly updated information HERE.
Photos are courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
From Wikipedia: Vog is a form of air pollution that results when sulfur dioxide and other gases and particles emitted by an erupting volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The word is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic", "smog", and "fog". The term is in common use in the Hawaiian islands, where the Kīlauea volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi (aka "The Big Island"), has been erupting continuously since January 3, 1983. Based on June 2008 measurements, Kīlauea emits 2,000–4,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) every day.