Many of you may be following the recent lava flow from the Pu’u O’o vent of Kilauea volcano on the eastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii. This has been an active vent in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HVNP) since 1983 with numerous flows, mostly downhill from the hill (pu’u), over the cliff (pali) towards the Pacific Ocean. In the 1990’s this same vent caused the destruction of the Royal Gardens Subdivision (over 100 homes) and the village of Kalapana, which had a beautiful, famous black sand beach and warm springs. Back in 1960, this same volcano opened up in a fountaining geyser and destroyed the village of Kapoho, which also had a warm springs.
A recent 6/27/14 flow from Pu’u O’o has gone toward the east and northern direction, and is now 12 miles long, approaching the town of Pahoa (population 1,000). Many of the wooden structures in that town may be destroyed (as the lava approaches the heat of 2,000 degrees F it causes the buildings to burn and melt), the roads will be covered by lava, power lines may go down and electricity may be cut off. Since this is a slow moving flow (about 200 to 400 yards per day), there is time for people to evacuate their homes, businesses, move livestock, etc.
The lava flow crossed Apa’a Street/cemetery road early this morning and is heading toward the village. This is the back access road to the transfer station and town cemetery, mauka (upslope) from the main village.