In Pictures: Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano continues to keep residents on edge

The Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island came to life on May 3, belching ash into the sky and spewing fountains of lava in a residential area where people were ordered to leave their homes. (Source: AP)

A series of earthquakes including a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck, possibly the biggest of hundreds of quakes and the largest to strike the state in 43 years. (Source: AP)

Officials ordered more than 2,000 people to evacuate the Big Island near the lava, warning of the dangers of spattering hot rock and high levels of sulfuric gas that could threaten the elderly and people with breathing problems. (Source: AP)

A new fissure spraying lava fountains as high as about 230 feet (70 m), according to United States Geological Survey, is shown from Luana Street in Leilani Estates subdivision on Kilauea Volcano's lower East Rift Zone in Hawaii. (Source: Reuters)

Kilauea has destroyed around 36 structures, including 26 homes since May 3, when it began releasing lava from vents about 40 kilometers east of the summit crater. Fifteen of the vents are now spread through the Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens neighborhoods. (Source: AP)

Scientists note that as long as people stay out of closed areas of a national park around the volcano, the possible explosion won't be deadly. (Source: AP)

The national park around the volcano also announced that it would be closed indefinitely because of the risks starting May 10. (Source: AP)

The added threat of an explosive eruption could ground planes at one of the Big Island's two major airports and pose other dangers. The lava levels in the lake are dropping because lava is spewing out of cracks elsewhere in the mountain, lowering the pressure that filled the lava lake. (Source: AP)