When lava that's more than 2000 degrees fahrenheit hits the ocean, you get massive plumes of steam rising from the sea. Those who've seen it up close say it's like fireworks in slow motion. Big Island videographer Mick Kalber shot this video a couple hours after Madame Pele met the Pacific.

"I feel reverence, I feel awe," Kalber said, "there's nothing like it to me."

And only Pele knows how long the flow will continue.

Jim Kauahikaua of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said, "a number of things can happen in the tube. It could clog and rob this flow of supply and supply another flow somewhere else, could be anywhere along that 8 mile length."

It's not just the heat that makes this dangerous. Scientists say when lava hits seawater, a chemical reaction releases toxins into the air.

"...hydrochloric, sulfuric and some fluoric acid and also some volcanic glass fragments are in the plume, said Kauahikaua, "and so it can be hazardous to inhale. I know it makes your skin itchy."

That's one reason the public viewing site isn't open yet. Shifting winds could blow the plume in different directions and county officials are being extra cautious in choosing the site. Big Island mayor Harry Kim aims to have one set-up by Saturday.

"Work meetings are going on right now, what areas to set aside,how to rope if off, what signs need to be set up," he said in a phone interview.

The lava zone is off limits and police are dropping by through out the night. They're asking the public to be patient and wait until a safe viewing site is opened.

---