During the early stages of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption, beginning in 1983 and continuing into 1986, the summit region of Kīlauea Volcano experienced 47 inflation/deflation cycles associated with fountaining episodes at the eruption site. The periods of inflation were characterized by an increased rate of shallow tectonic earthquakes (or short‐period events), which culminated in a fountaining episode at Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, rapid deflation of the summit, and a spike in volcanic earthquakes (or long‐period events). This process is understood as magma accumulation beneath the summit followed by downrift transport to the eruption site. We employ an earthquake rate formulation from rate‐state‐dependent friction to quantify Coulomb stress changes during deflation cycles at Kīlauea Volcano. Results illuminate two magma reservoirs—one beneath Kīlauea's summit near Halema‘uma‘u Crater and one near Keanakāko‘i and Puhimau pit craters near the intersection between the summit caldera and East Rift Zone. An increase in deflation rates throughout the studied period also suggests an evolution of the East Rift Zone conduit from a blocked system to one where magma is able to move freely from the summit to Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.