Lava flow’s leading edge stalls while small breakout flow remains active

The leading edge of the June 27 lava flow has not advanced during the past 24 hours, a Hawaii County Civil Defense overflight on Monday morning found.

While the Kilauea Volcano flow’s leading edge remains static, a flow lobe upslope and north advanced by 100 yards since Sunday morning, Civil Defense and scientists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. The observatory plans an additional overflight of the entire June 27 flow later on Monday.

The halt of the flow’s leading edge on Monday follows a 24-hour period of activity between Saturday and Sunday when the edge had advanced approximately 20 to 30 yards. The June 27 flow had stalled several days prior.

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. On Monday morning, Civil Defense said that smoke conditions were light to moderate with light trade winds out of the northeast.

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.

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.