Names considered for fissure created by Kilauea eruption

HILO, Hawaii — A Hawaii naming agency has scheduled a public meeting to narrow down potential names for a new state landmark formed during last year’s Kilauea volcanic eruption, officials said.

The Hawaii Board of Geographic Names and a Permitted Interaction Group has tentatively scheduled a public meeting Sept. 19 for residents to discuss 21 proposed names made public Tuesday for Fissure 8, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported Wednesday.

The fissure formed during the eruption is a cone-shaped crack about 200 feet (61 meters) high in on the Big Island, scientists said.

Fissure 8 has become one of the most prominent landmarks formed during the volcanic eruption, the newspaper reported.

The naming board began soliciting names from the public in 2018, and a three-person group has met with residents to discuss their thoughts on suggested names, officials said.

Attendees at a public meeting in May heavily debated over which Hawaiian deity the fissure should be named after, but board officials now hope the second meeting will further narrow the list to a handful of options.

“The public has been encouraged to have their own discussions about the names on their own,” said Marques Marzan, chair of the Board of Geographic Names and one of the members of the Permitted Interaction Group. “Optimistically, we’d like it if the community came out of this meeting all supporting one name.”

The deadline for submitting names passed June 30, but one additional name was successfully submitted after that date making a list of 21 names, all in the Hawaiian language, officials said.

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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/