The June 27 lava flow, which has recently seen little activity at its front, made forward progress Wednesday.
The June 27 lava flow, which has recently seen little activity at its front, made forward progress Wednesday.
Steve Brantley, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory acting scientist-in-charge, said lava had advanced about 98 feet from the flow’s front. The flow remains relatively weak, though the advancement shows the lava tube system remains intact.
Lava feeding the flow continues to break out of a tube located about 5 miles behind the flow front near where the lava entered a crack system on Aug. 18, according to the observatory.
The front of the flow is currently located about 1.4 miles upslope of Apaa Street in the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision and about 2.1 miles from Pahoa Village Road, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The flow has progressed some 16.1 miles from its vent on Kilauea.
The observatory’s next planned overflight of the volcano is slated for Friday. The Hawaii County Civil Defense says it plans an aerial survey via helicopter this afternoon. The survey is delayed because of an ongoing emergency search for a man who fell off a boat near Pohoiki earlier this week.
The June 27 flow currently poses no immediate threat to residential areas, according to Civil Defense. There is also no threat of fire at this time. Civil Defense reported smoke conditions to be light to moderate. Light rain was also falling in the area.
Residents in the area do not need to evacuate at this time, Civil Defense said, noting that area residents will be given adequate notice to safely evacuate should such action become necessary. Access to the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision remains restricted to area residents.
Hawaii Electric Light Co. crews continue to work in the Government Beach Road area to move critical infrastructure ahead of the flow. Hawaii County Civil Defense officials said that this will require the road to be closed; access will be limited to residents.
The Railroad Emergency Route is not open to the public this time. Civil Defense said no public vehicles, persons or activity is allowed within the emergency route until it is opened. The route will open upon the direction of Civil Defense in the event Highway 130 becomes unusable because of the lava flow. For more information on the effort to create the route, click here.
All of the flow remains within the boundaries of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and adjacent state land managed by7 the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the observatory said. The flow is currently not visible and cannot be accessed from any public areas.
The next lava flow community update meeting with representatives from Civil Defense and HVO is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Pahoa High & Intermediate School cafeteria.
The county’s Incident Command Center and Informational Resource Center is also open to answer questions from residents 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at Pahoa Community Center.