It takes some serious courage to explore active volcanoes. While there may not be molten lava spewing out of the top while you’re traversing the hardened base, assuring yourself that the mountain won’t suddenly take its anger out with a violent burst of ash and fire can be tough.
Kawika Singson is the kind of guy who doesn’t shy away from that challenge. But while exploring the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve in Hawaii, he stumbled upon something he knew didn’t look right — and when he realized what it was, he knew he was in trouble.
Kawika Singson’s a media personality and devoted adventurer who hosts an online show called Everything Hawaii. He takes viewers to the most scenic areas of the archipelago, and he doesn’t shy away from the more dangerous areas, either.
Everything Hawaii
That includes volcanoes — yeah, those massive mountain peaks that spew thousands of tons of ash and molten hot lava every so often. And Hawaii, the large island within the state, has five of them scattered throughout its land mass.
Britannica
Kawika wanted to take a solo adventure around the volcanoes, so he journeyed into the Mauna Loa Forest Reserve. It didn’t take long before he came upon a massive opening in the trees that made him gasp.
Hawaii National Parks
It was an enormous crater pit caused by the Mauna Loa volcano. This was one of three active volcanoes on Hawaii. Even though it was risky to explore, Kawika powered on towards the formation. He needed footage for his show.
National Park Service
There was some danger involved, of course, but he wasn’t too worried. Around each of the volcanoes are lookout points where experts and researchers can keep an eye on any activity. If a volcano was getting aggressive, they could give ample warning.
Global Monitoring Laboratory
Meanwhile, as he hiked, he was well aware there was a chance of stumbling upon batches of lava that hadn’t completely hardened yet. One step could instantly cost him a foot, so Kawika was super cautious.
He had with him a camera and tripod so he could capture some great footage for the newest episode of Everything Hawaii. As he was looking through his lens, he spotted something odd in the distance.
Everything Hawaii
So, he packed up his camera and carefully made his way over the hardened formations until he reached a rusted metal object protruding from a mass of lava. He bent down to get a closer look.
Everything Hawaii
At first, he was completely confused. It looked like an old rusted soup bowl, the lost cargo of an explorer from decades ago. But then he looked closer and realized just how dangerous this item was.
It was an undetonated bomb! Kawika stood up and his jaw hit the floor. What was a massive bomb doing wedged into hardened lava? Then, he turned his head and gasped again!
Everything Hawaii
There was a second bomb not too far away! It, too, was stuck inside a mound of rock-hard magma. What the heck were two live bombs doing inside Mauna Loa? Kawika had a pretty good idea.
Back in the 1930, there was a man named Thomas A. Jaggar, a volcanologist. This guy dedicated his life to learning everything he could about volcanoes, and he founded a famous observatory in Hawaii.
Wikipedia
It was called the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and it served as the main hub where scientists and researchers studied the activity of all five volcanoes of Hawaii. Even though two weren’t active, experts could never be sure they’d stay that way.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
Jagger and his team of experts worked tirelessly to ensure they were able to gather enough information to protect residents of Hawaii from volcanic activity. The team was truly tested in 1933 when Mauna Loa erupted.
National Park Service
The United States Geological Survey wrote, “Following a Mauna Loa summit eruption in 1933, Jaggar predicted that a flank eruption would occur on the volcano within two years and might threaten (the town of) Hilo.” His hoped his prediction didn’t come true.
But in 1935, Mauna Loa blew again, and the nearby town of Hilo was in grave danger. Jagger, along with his team, scrambled to come up with a safe solution, which depended upon the Army Air Corps.
The plan was to have a military plane drop 20 “pointer bombs” onto the land surrounding the pools of lava that were collecting to create new channels to divert to he lava from Hilo’s path. The military agreed.
Pixels
Smithsonian Magazine wrote, “Through complicated and sustained efforts, like cooling lava with water or building barriers to stop the flow, a volcano’s eruption can sometimes be redirected.” Miraculously, it worked, but Kawika found the two bombs that never exploded.
Army Air Corps
Kawika came across a decades-old piece of history, and he knew the importance of the volcano-bombing process. He caught great footage for his show and was always looking for more opportunities to teach his viewers. He was curious about other Pacific islands too.
Kawika Singson / flickr