21 Devastating Photos from Hawaii's Volcano Eruption

Lava erupts from a fissure and lights up the night sky as people gather on a residential street in Leilani Gardens.

A lava lake forms in Pahoa's Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.

Lava from Kilauea has spread more than 387,500 square feet into the surrounding neighborhoods on Hawaii's Big Island.

Lava from Kilauea reaches the ocean creating a steam cloud of lava haze (or "laze") that is a mix of hydrochloric acid and fine glass particles. The laze extends 15 miles west of the Big Island and can cause breathing issues and skin irritation.

Lava enters the property of the Puna Geothermal Venture, a geothermal power plant that provides a quarter of the Big Island's power.

Hawaii County spokeswoman Janet Snyder told the Associated Press that the lava has stalled behind a berm on the plant's boundary after coming within 300 yards of the nearest geothermal well pad. Plant employees have already removed 50,000 gallons of pentane, a highly flammable gas stored there, as a precaution several weeks ago.

Lava from Kilauea continues to pour into the Pacific Ocean on Hawaii's Big Island on Monday, May 21.

The rate of lava flow in the East Rift Zone has increased, advancing at rates up to 300 yards per hour, according to the USGS.

A bird rests on a wire while lava from a fissure explodes in the background on Hawaii's Big Island.

In Leilani Estates, fissures 16-20 have merged in a continuous line of spatter and fountaining, the USGS says.

A man takes a photo of lava exploding from a fissure on Hawaii's Big Island. Police are warning people to not risk their lives to take photos of the lava flows.

Lava from a Kilauea fissure explodes higher than the trees on Hawaii's Big Island.

Lava from fissure 21 has taken over most of this street in Pahoa, Hawaii.

The Halemaumau crater at Big Island’s Kilauea volcano explodes, sending ash and smoke 30,000 feet into the air.

People play golf as the Kilauea volcano ash plume rises in the distance on Hawaii's Big Island.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitors watch as an ash plume rises from the Halemaumau crater on Wednesday. Most of the national park will close on Friday, May 11 to visitors, "due to the possibility of an explosive steam event and ash fall at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano."

The Halemaumau crater is illuminated by the crater's lava lake at night. The recent lowering of the lava lake at the crater "has raised the potential for explosive eruptions," USGS says.

Fumes rise from a fissure in a road in Leilani Estates on May 4. When the sulfur dioxide from these vents mix with sunlight and oxygen it forms a type of volcanic smog called "vog," which can cause pneumonia and bronchitis-like symptoms.

Leilani Estates resident, Stacy Welch, inspects a home destroyed by lava just 250-feet from her home, which remains standing.

Lava from a fissure in Kilauea's east rift zone consumes a home on May 6. So far, the total number of homes lost in the Leilan Estates neighborhood is 26, but geologists from the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory don't expect the eruption to end soon.

Lava erupts from a new fissure on Luana Street in the Leilani Estates on May 5.