Scientists lower alert for Mauna Loa, say eruption could end

Scientists lowered the alert level for the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii's Big Island from a warning to a watch on Saturday and said the mountain's first eruption in nearly 40 years may soon end.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said that the eruption on the mountain's northeast rift zone was continuing, but lava output and volcanic gas emissions were “greatly reduced.” Mauna Loa began spewing molten rock Nov. 27 after being quiet for 38 years.