The Hawaii holiday snap that could land tourists in jail or fined

IT’S the awesome holiday snap that seems irresistible, but it’s getting tourists into big trouble.

FRUSTRATED authorities on Hawaii’s Big Island are coming down hard on tourists taking risky photos of the still-raging Kilauea volcano.

The volcano has been erupting since May 3, when molten rock began to spurt from a vent on a residential street.

The lava has since destroyed about 600 homes and completely filled nearby Kapoho Bay, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Extraordinary images of the Kilauea’s lava flow have emerged, but anyone hoping to snap their own photos of the awe-inspiring scene should think again.

Lava from the Kilauea volcano erupts from a fissure and forms a river of lava flowing down to Kapoho on June 10. Picture: AP/LE Baskow

According to Fortune, visitors on Hawaii’s Big Island now face jail time or fines of up to $6800 if they are caught venturing inside lava zones to take photos.

Despite barricades closing off areas to the public, and warnings about dangerous gas emissions, about 40 people have been arrested for loitering in lava zones since Kilauea began to erupt.

That includes about a dozen trespassers in the past 10 days.

A man watches as lava is seen spewing from a fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision near the town of Pahoa on May 4. Picture: AFP/Frederic J Brown

Lava from fissure 8 advances along a main road on May 31. Picture: AFP/US Geological Survey/HO

“I find there is a need to strengthen the enforcement tools available to county and state emergency management officials in controlling public access to dangerous areas and associated evacuation efforts as a result of the failure of the public to comply with instructions and orders issued by officials,” Hawaii Governor David Ige said.

The warning comes as lava continues to move slowly through a Big Island suburb from the volcano’s most active fissure, fissure 8.

Fissure 8 fountains reach heights up to 50 metres June 12. Picture: AFP/US Geological Survey/HO

Hawaii County Civil Defence Agency advised residents at Leilani Estates on Sunday to stay indoors as the volcano sent large amounts of dangerous gases and ash into the air.

Experts have also been working to determine the speed at which lava flow from fissure 8 was moving.

“Scientists believe it’s pumping out about 100 cubic metres per second — which is the equivalent of about 26,000 US gallons (98,000 litres) per second or enough to fill 12 commercial dump trucks per second!” Hawaii News Now reporter Mileka Lincoln said on Instagram.

This amount of lava could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every 25 seconds or two times a minute. Every 1.3 seconds it also spews more liquid than what the average Australian consumes in water every year.

Lava fountains at fissure 8 were reaching heights of up to 54 metres, Lincoln said.