Just over a week ago, Kilauea Volcano’s June 27 lava flow was barely moving forward, but then it surged into Pahoa. With that in mind, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is using this Volcano Watch article to summarize how the lava went from being a somewhat distant threat to an immediate one in just a few days.
Just over a week ago, Kilauea Volcano’s June 27 lava flow was barely moving forward, but then it surged into Pahoa. With that in mind, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is using this Volcano Watch article to summarize how the lava went from being a somewhat distant threat to an immediate one in just a few days.
In mid-October, following weeks of relatively slow advance — less than 1 mile in three weeks — the leading edge of the June 27 lava flow stalled. While there were no illusions that it had stopped for good — there were still plenty of lava outbreaks behind the flow front, indicating that it remained active — residents downslope of the lava flow were granted some extra time to prepare for its possible arrival. The threat may even have seemed a bit abstract, with lava still more than 0.6 mile upslope of Apaa Street/Cemetery Road and almost 1.2 miles from Pahoa Village Road.
The situation began to change on Oct. 13, when a narrow finger of lava broke out from behind the flow front and moved along the southeast margin of the existing flow, at times reaching rates more than 165 yards per day. On Oct. 22, the narrow finger overtook the stalled flow front and became the leading edge of the flow. The following day it advanced 430 yards because of a local gully, which narrowed and focused the lava flow.
On Oct. 25, at 3:20 a.m., lava reached Apaa Street — a milestone with historical, geographical and psychological implications. The flow had entered the community of Pahoa and was impacting human infrastructure.
Pushing closer to town, lava inundated the Pahoa cemetery, just 0.5 mile from Pahoa Village Road, on the morning of Oct. 26. By that afternoon, the flow was moving through a grassy field and adjacent forest, and burning vegetation resulted in frequent, and often loud, methane blasts. These blasts — common wherever lava encounters vegetation — are a significant, yet underappreciated, hazard to anyone nearby.
As lava moves through vegetated ground, plant materials covered by the flow, including roots, continue to burn. This burning produces methane, which can accumulate beneath the flow and, under certain circumstances, burst through the flow surface or along the flow margins. Occasionally, the methane bursts can be quite large — powerful enough to throw hot rock on anyone standing nearby.
Moving at 5 to 10 yards per hour, with the advance rate varying because of changes in the slope of the land, the lava flow reached a fence line marking private property on Tuesday morning. As it moved through private land, the lava engulfed everything in its path, including a utility shed, trees in a small macadamia nut orchard and a pile of tires. The burning tires produced a thick plume of black smoke that was visible for miles, causing both interest and concern among Pahoa and nearby residents.
Over the subsequent days, the lava flow continued to advance through private property toward Pahoa Village Road, although the advance rate of the flow front slowed to only a few yards per hour, and eventually stalled Thursday. Such slowdowns are common in pahoehoe flows. Breakouts upslope of the flow front can divert supply away from the leading edge and flow inflation can cause the flow to thicken instead of pushing forward.
Nevertheless, it is important to remain vigilant. Inflated flows can suddenly burst forth, releasing streams of lava that can move rapidly over small distances — behavior that was common in the days prior to the slowdown on Thursday. In addition, we expect the flow to continue to widen as breakouts upslope fill in places that were initially bypassed by the leading edge. The process of inflating, surging and widening is the pattern by which pahoehoe lava flows grow.
HVO and Hawaii County Civil Defense are monitoring the ongoing lava flow activity around the clock to keep abreast of these and other developments. Maps, photos and detailed updates are posted on the HVO and Civil Defense websites at hvo.wr.usgs.gov and hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts.
Kilauea activity update
The June 27 lava flow remained active on Kilauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone. Within the Puu Oo crater, glow was visible above several small outgassing openings in the crater floor.
The summit lava lake within Halemaumau Crater produced nighttime glow visible via HVO’s webcam over the past week. The lava level was relatively steady over much of the week and was roughly 200 feet below the rim of the Overlook crater. Deflation starting Wednesday was associated with a minor drop in lava level, which continues at the time of writing on Thursday.
There were no earthquakes reported felt on Hawaii Island during the past week.
Visit the HVO website at hvo.wr.usgs.gov for past Volcano Watch articles and current Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai activity updates, recent volcano photos, recent earthquakes and more; call 967-8862 for a Kilauea summary; email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.