This is a special edition of nightline, inside the ring of fire. Good evening. If youre lucky enough to be curled up by a fireplace this christmas eve, you might wonder why anyone in his or her right mind would visit an active volcano. Tonight, were taking you on a journey to one of the deadliest volcanoes on the planet. And extraordinary quest. Abcs Gloria Riviera experiencing the deathdefying drama, along with one unlikely and very brave adventurer. Reporter the sheer force of it is like nothing else on the planet. When youre this close, you not only hear that boom, but you feel it. What you see is stop in your tracks stunning. Were inside the ring of fire. The most explosive terrain on earth. Bearing witness to one of natures most violent and unpredictable forces. And at the center of it all, 11yearold molly ambrose. The worlds youngest volcano hunter. Came a long way. And the only way to g in here reporter shes traveled indonesia with her father brad, who makes a living filming rare images of natures most explosive threat. Everything with a volcano is different. They have different personalities. Reporter right now, they have venturing to one of the angriest. To capture the ultimate shot of this violent volcano, located on an uninhabited, inhospitable isla island. What are the changers on a volcano . Lots of things could go wrong. When the lava comes out of the crater, it could hit you and you could get burned or a rock can hit you in the head. This is a dangerous play. Reporter leading this odyssey, brads boss, jeff mackley. A legend in the business. At the moment, im about as close as you can get to the volcano. Reporter and a lifelong adrenaline junky. When you find something you like, you do it again and again though it may cause you harm, i think is how you describe that. Five meters. Reporter together, these new zealand ers have been to hell and back. Oh, my god. Oh reporter cashing in big with breathtaking footage like this. Just feet from a chaotic caldron of bubbling lava. What does it look like . Looks like the surface of the sun. It looks like all of my wildest dreams. Reporter its pictures like these that have made them famous. But new adventures beckon. The more remote and difficult the journey, the greater the prize. And we want in. So, we ask them to be our guides. But can they really pull it off with a child in tow . Every time you go out there and you get on a volcano, what are you hoping for . Im hoping to come back alive. Reporter so am i, because this journey will be treacherous. Indonesia is home to a record 147 active volcanoes. And on our way, we pass through this hellscape. A volcanic sulfur mine engulfed with toxic gas. A large enough eruption could unleash a giant acid lake on everyone below. Water so toxic, it dissolves metal. It is risky, evenadults who work here and certainly not i deal for an 11yearold. What do you think of this place . Its cool. Really cool. Reporter this is an inherently dangerous and unpredictable place. Does molly have any place being there . I think so. Shes getting world experience that shes not going to get anywhere else. Theres only so much you can learn from looking at a tv screen or experiencing on a computer. Reporter brad, a divorced dad, is almost always on the road. And if molly didnt come along, he says hed barely see her at all. Because i actually live four, five hours away from her, i want the time that we have together to be special. Reporter this volcanic mine is a first for molly, but jeffs been here before. Its been ten years since i was last year and things have changed an awful lot. Now the tourists outnumber the miners, probably 100 to 1. Reporter volcano tourism is the latest trend in adventure travel. And thats a problem for jeff, but no client is willing to pay top dollar for pictures anyone can get. To stay at the top of his game, he has to up the ante. How far are you willing to go to get those shots . To the ends of the earth. Reporter and thats exactly where were headed. Its one of the most active volcanoes on earth at the moment. But a place most people have never heard of. Reporter let alone seen. We take two planes. A long drive. And hook up with a local guide who helps us hitch a ride on a tuna fishing boat for the final leg. The only way to get out to this volcano is to take one of these boats six hours, at least, im told its going to be pretty bumpy. Disappear for a couple of days and go fishing. And hopefully they come back. Reporter this is the flores sea, and we are surrounded by volcanoes, stretching 25,000 miles around the pacific. This ring of fire is home to 90 of the worlds earthquakes, and by far, most volcanic eruptions. You have tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes. The ring of fire is the most volatile place on earth . Well, i wouldnt call it volatile. Id call it necessary. If you didnt have that stuff going on, the earth would be tearing itself apart. When you go to these places, if you got something, you dont have it. If you need a hospital, there isnt one. If something goes wrong, youre screwed. Reporter our local guide says fewer than 50 westerners have ever braved the journey. Certainly none as young as molly. Maybe she should move with daddy. Reporter the trip is brutal. Six grueling hours on a dodgy boat speeding into oblivion. Only molly keeps smiling. The rest of us, queasy. Its erupting right now. Reporter oh, my god. Thats huge. Its almost like on cue, just as we started to get close, it erupted. Almost as a welcome, or maybe a warning. One by one, we load up. High five, we made it. Even this strange passenger. Our guides insist we bring him along as a sacrifice to the spirit of the volcano. An idea molly hates. Hello, we just made it. Were now on sacred ground. Low cams have always steered clear for fear of upsetting the mountain. Thats it. Were alone. Were alone out here. When night falls, we get to work. And with only 48 hours on this island, every second counts. What do you have to do to get the shot . Well, pretty much have to stay awake with a camera aimed at the action for as long as it takes to get the action. You dont know when thats going to come. Or if youre going to run out of batteries. The largest eruption weve had so far happened, so, now im going to go and see how big it really was. Reporter the guys are able to film a few decent eruptions, but not the shot theyre after. We have no way to predict just how violent each eruption will be. So, what is the safety plan there . There isnt one. Reporter there isnt one. Sort of luck plan. Youre on an active volcano. The safest thing to do would be not to be there at all. Reporter its not just the lava that worries me. The terrain is unforgiving. The elements extreme. And when brad and jeff are distracted, molly falls on jagged rocks, injuring her elbow. Molly was behind us while we were talking and she slipped on a rock. It only halls, what, 20 centimeters behind me. Yeah. She needed dad, and there was an oh moment. Oh, god, this is the first night. Reporter the night gets worse. Weve had a major rainstorm at night. Weve had a few really big explosions. But the rain is really causing huge problems right now. Tent is basically collapsing. At the same time, we realized that the sea has started to invade our camp to the point that the waves are crashing so close, coming in and hurting us. It was kind of like hell. Reporter were trapped between an erupting volcano and swelling seas. At this rate, im not even sure how well get off this island. Coming up, we face the full wra wrath. Fact. Fastacting advil is designed with an ultrathin coating and fast absorbing advil Ion Core Technology stopping headaches and other tough pain. Fast. Relief doesnt get any better than this. Advil. Whaoh wow t . hello, humans. Focus on me focus on the guard. Dont tell anyone what youve seen in here. Have you seen whats in there . They have intel. This is where it all changes. 7 powerball tickets 6 match 6 chances 5 cash 5s 4 big 4s 3 daily numbers 2 Mega Millions joe happy holidays, rita. rita thanks, joe man what a great gift announcer Pennsylvania Lottery tickets make great gifts, like the new 1 million peppermint payout. joe happy holidays and best wishes from the lottery and were back now on this christmas eve, not in a winter wonderland, but inside an explosive volcano. Even the locals keep their distance. But crazy or not, were going right in, with rain pouring down from below and lava bubbling up from below. Our team will not be deferred from the quest to capture the staggering beauty few others will ever see. Here again is abcs Gloria Riviera. Reporter im in the heart of the pacific ring of fire with a trio of dangerloving volcano hunters. Look at that. Including 11yearold molly ambrose. These photographers in pursuit of the ultimate shot. Theyve led me to a remote, uninhablted e ee eed island, ch one very angry volcano. We only have two nights here, and we barely survived the first, battling waves and rain. Come morning, the tide is threatening to overtake camp. Instead of filming, theyre scrambling to build a barrier. Its still quite sore. Reporter and molly is still a little shaken up. Sometimes i get a bit scared, but dad says the good thing is, when youre scared, its because youre thinking about all the dangers. Reporter right about now, her dads mostly scared because thousands of dollars are on the line and he still hasnt captured the shot. They are racing against time. Weve pretty much lost half the day just waiting for the weather to start clearing. Ideally, theres so many other positions we want to be in. Reporter getting any closer by boat is out of the question. The money shots doing something ridiculous on camera that doesnt get you killed. Reporter now the locals are saying that maybe the mountain is mad at us. We didnt make any offering. Well, kill a chicken. Reporter kill a chicken . Remember this poor soul . Well, desperate times so, this chicken actually we would like to sacrifice. Reporter our guides hope this offering will appease the mountain and our luck will change. Call it coincidence, but after a few hours, the weather improves. We set out on an expedition to get even closer to the eruption. I mean, i cant believe how close we are. That is insane. The mountain, it seems, was expecting us. Its very beautiful. But it can kill you. Reporter it can kill you. Yeah. Reporter but the real show happens after dark. So, we made it close, but we just didnt get the explosion we wanted, so, we have to move positions. Now were hiking at night, much harder, to try to get a better angle. Holy oh, my god. That is amazing. You can see all those rocks, those lava boulders coming down that chute. Sounds like thunder, fireworks, an airplane taking off, all at once. That is a fireworks display that only Mother Nature can do. The ones that you feel before you hear, theyre the ones that you think, god, i hope the mountain is happy with us. Reporter as the night wares on and the rest of us go to sleep, brads pursuit borders on obsession. I think ive got everything i need but you will always want one more. Done. Ive done it now. Reporter but was it worth the risk . Especially for molly . Youre talking about a place thats unpredictable, there are no guarantees. If things go wrong, they could go very wrong. And youre taking your daughter to those places. I think the journey is almost more of a risk. Just crossing the road, jumping in the car, driving. Reporter i dont know that people will buy that. I dont know. Well, to me, shes the most valuable thing in the world, so, i wouldnt want to put her in a place where im not comfortable being. She also balances me out. By having her with me, i probably didnt push it as much as what i may have. Reporter brad and jeff court danger, but for half a billion People Living in the shadow of shes slumbering giants, volcanoes are a constant threat. Its the ultimate lifegiver and lifetaker on this planet. Reporter right now, two major eruptions are happening, one in iceland, one in the philippines. Volcano hunters are more than just thrill seekers. Guys like jeff and brad actually spend more time on volcanoes than most scientists. And their images are clues that help us piece together the mystery of these natural wonders. Potentially saving lives. After two hellish days on this island, im eager to leave. But not molly. It was really cool staying the night and watching the eruption. So, i wouldnt mind staying here another night. Reporter brads thirst for adventure must be hereditary. What do you want to be when you grow up . I just really want to follow dads footsteps. Reporter for this father and daughter team, a trip that took us all to our very limits but brought them even closer together. The one constant we have is time and it keeps passing. Sooner or later, she wont need me anymore. I will always need you. And ill always love you. Its good to spend time with him. Reporter even if it means it has to be on a volcano . Yeah. Reporter for nightline, im Gloria Riviera in indonesia. Our thanks to gloria fror tht incredib incredible report from the ring of fire. Well be right back. And the winner of this years superstar. coughs coughing can really be disruptive. With a record breaking fifty million votes, your superstar is. Thats why theres delsym. 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And here at the spencerville seventhday adventist church, people are gathering to talk about that one event, just as people have for thousands of years, gathered to study that event. I hope youll join us inside. You can see i still have to go get ready for this event, so im going to go and get changed. You go on inside, and ill join you in just a moment. So, lets see if we have some musicians who are ready to go. Are you kids excited . All yeah [ cheers and applause ] all right, lets go inside. Come on with us. Announcer peace on earth, featuring shawn and jean boonstra, with musical guest christine wollmann, the kings heralds, the adventist childrens chorus, and a special feature by bill knott