HILO, Hawai'i — For the second time this month Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was closed because of high sulfur dioxide levels from the emissions at Kilauea Volcano, requiring that about 2,000 workers and visitors be moved out of the park.

Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando yesterday ordered the closure of the park, including the 47-room Volcano House hotel, until further notice. Park rangers closed all facilities except for the Kilauea Military Camp, which opted to remain open, said Park Ranger Mardie Lane.

There was no immediate threat to anyone's safety, but light winds were leaving the volcanic gas plume lingering over the park, park officials said.

"Our primary concern is for the health and safety of visitor and employees," said Incident Commander Joe Molhoek in a statement from the park. "We're in close contact with the National Weather Service and look forward to favorable winds by week's end."

About 800 government and private company employees work at the park, and Lane said most of those workers and all of the visitors who arrived yesterday morning were being evacuated. The park has been hosting about 3,000 visitors a day lately, although many come at night to see the glow in the crater, Lane said.

National Park Service emergency responders will remain on duty.

Crater Rim Drive was closed early yesterday morning beyond Kilauea Military Camp and to the Chain of Craters Road junction after sulfur dioxide concentrations from Kilauea volcano climbed to more five times the level deemed to unhealthy in some parts of the park. That meant Jaggar Museum and the Kilauea Visitor Center were already closed at the time of the latest announcement.

Big Island Civil Defense officials warned that light winds expected in the area from the southeast could cause heavy vog or haze from the volcanic emissions to blow into the Hilo and Puna areas.

Civil Defense did not order evacuations for any of the communities around the national park, but the wind forecast and intermittent spikes in sulfur dioxide levels prompted county officials to advise people in the Volcano Golf and Country Club Estates to avoid outdoor activity.

People with respiratory problems that made them sensitive to poor air quality were also advised to remain indoors in Volcano Village, Mauna Loa Estates, Ohia Estates, Royal Hawaiian Estates, and Hawaiian Orchid Island Estates.

Residents of the area reported heavy vog or volcanic haze during the day.

"As I look through my windows, I can't even see across our property," said Betsy Mitchell, a Volcano Village resident. Mitchell said she can normally look across her one-acre lot and a neighboring property to see the trees in the national park "and the vog goes right to the national park trees, I can't even see the trees anymore."

Mitchell and her husband have gas masks with filters, and don't plan to evacuate. "We feel comfortable here with windows closed, but we have a place to go in Hilo if we want to; we've been invited. We're one of lucky ones," she said.

Pu'u 'O'o on Kilauea's East Rift Zone has been producing about 2,000 metric tons of sulfur dioxide a day for years, but only about 200 tons per day were being released at Halema'uma'u at the summit.

That changed late last year when sulfur dioxide emissions from the summit began to climb, and by March 13 had reached record levels of 2,000 tons a day as a new vent opened in the wall of the crater.

Those emissions at Halema'uma'u have since dropped to about 1,000 tons a day, but combined with the ongoing emissions at Pu'u 'O'o can cause air quality problems in and around the national park.

Park Superintendent Orlando was not optimistic the park would reopen today. "It looks like we're going to have another bad day," she said. "We're not anticipating being able to open first thing in the morning."

The trade winds are not expected to return until this weekend.