Hawaii Island to volcano spectators: ‘Take your ʻopala with you’

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - With thousands of spectators flocking to Hawaii island to witness the simultaneous eruptions Mauna Loa and Kilauea, many are forgetting the “campsite rule.”

In other words, leave the area in a better condition than you found it.

An estimated 50,000 people have visited the special viewing area opened for the Mauna Loa eruption. And, county officials say, some have left behind trash ― from soda cans and wrappers to tent parts.

“We want to urge our community and visitors to take your ʻopala with you when you come and visit so that the area can be as clean as possible,” said Dr. Noe-Noe Wong Wilson, at a eruption briefing Thursday with USGS.

“And if and when Pele decides to come into that area, we know we’ve done our job.”

Wong Wilson explained that it is a customary cultural practice from the Royal Order of Kamehameha to prepare your home and surrounding volcanic areas for the arrival of Madame Pele.

“We will do our best to make sure that when Pele comes, the place is as clean as we can make it for her,” she said.

Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth also pleaded with visitors to refrain from littering.

“We continue to remind people that it’s really disrespectful to go out there and do those kinds of things, throwing trash and rubbish,” he said.

“It’s not safe and puts our first responders in danger and takes them away from other duties.”

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