Hawaii's Kilauea volcano had a small explosion Sunday after a crater wall collapsed causing lava and rocks to spill over the volcano's rim, according to The Associated Press. It is unlikely that anyone could be injured from this event.

The explosion could be compared to hammering the top of a champagne bottle according to a geologist with the United States Geological Survey.

"There's a lot of gas in the lava," USGS geologist Janet Babb said. "And so, when that rock fall hits the lava lake, it's like the moment you knock the top of the champagne bottle off and that gas is released and it hurls molten lava and rock fragments."

Debris hurled about 280 feet into the sky during Sunday's explosion at the Halemaumau visitor overlook that has been closed since 2008. Ash and dust can land in other visitor areas depending on which way the wind blows.

It has been 33 years since molten lava has been visible in this area's crater. The kind of lake formed from Sunday's explosion was last seen in 1974.

Since the explosion at the popular tourist destination, the lava lake has been rising at record heights, CNN reports.

Babb says that visitors nearby are not in danger because the overlook at Jaggar Museum at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is more than a mile away.

Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is the largest in the chain of volcanoes in Hawaii. Residents nearby had to be evacuated after lava from Kilauea spilled over to their community and burned down houses.

The vent within the Halemaumau Crater has been rising and falling since it opened and reached one of its highest points in October 2012.

According to the Geological Survey, a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was felt near Kilauea on Monday.