A breakout on the lava flow encroaching on Pahoa advanced ahead of the former flow front Thursday, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense.
A breakout on the lava flow encroaching on Pahoa advanced ahead of the former flow front Thursday, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense.
The breakout advanced about 100 yards between daily overflights, according to Civil Defense. Officials said scattered lava activity was noted along the perimeter and some burning was noted along the forest line area on the southeast edge of the flow.
The burning activity is resulting in moderate to heavy smoke conditions in the area, however, there is no brush fire threat at this time.
That flow rate is an increase compared to Wednesday when the flow was seen to have advanced about 32 yards.
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 June 27 flow currently poses no immediate threat to residential areas, according to Civil Defense. 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 by 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 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.