Lava Flow from Kilauea
Scroll down for the latest updates.
Lava flows from Kilauea, the nearby volcano, are threatening some residential areas and a major town in the district. Currently, our area is not under threat.
Scroll down for the latest updates.
Lava flows from Kilauea, the nearby volcano, are threatening some residential areas and a major town in the district. Currently, our area is not under threat.
Some Background
Kilauea is located near the southern shore of the island, on the eastern side, and is located in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The current eruption started in January 1983 and has been erupting continuously since then. For almost all of that time, the lava flowed from the Pu'u O'o cone towards the south or south-south east. Various parts of the Royal Gardens subdivision were covered with lava, with the first house destroyed by lava in 1983 and the very last not destroyed until 2012. In 1990, the lava completely covered the town of Kalapana on the shore.
This map shows the historical flows to the south. Some of the areas were covered multiple times during different flows.
During most of this time, the lava flowed down the mountain (often in lava tubes) and eventually made its way to the ocean. If you were adventurous, you could hike the lava field and find the lava near the ocean entry, as we did on January 4, 2013.
Later in January 2013, the lava stared flowing towards the northeast. The flow extended for about 3 miles and then stopped in mid-April. In May, another flow heading the same general direction started, but it progressed very slowly, advancing only about 5 miles over the next year, and the flow was declared dead in early July 2014.
This map shows the flow.
Where are we in relation to the lava flow? The tip of the red arrow shows our approximate location. It's about 8 miles from the furthest active flow, and the topography would make it difficult for the lava to reach us.
The Current Flow
A few weeks earlier, a new cone began forming at Pu'u O'o', and on June 27 the lava broke out from the cone and again began heading to the northeast. The flow initially advanced quickly, moving almost 1 mile on the first day, but slowed significantly after that.
This is the early flow, heading down from Pu'u' O'o.
This shows the June 27 flow in relation to the other flows.
The flow advanced fairly slowly for about five weeks and seemed to be heading more towards the south, away from inhabited areas.
On about August 27, the lava entered a ground crack and was mostly hidden from sight as it traveled along the crack, eventually emerging from the other side.
The flow continued along the crack and headed towards a (sparsely populated) residential area known as Kaohe Homesteads. People in this area were becoming increasingly concerned, and there was talk about what would happen is the lava crossed the highway (130), cutting off the residential areas to the south.
It continued slowly in this direction until September 6, when the lava started heading more northerly. (The blue lines are are not rivers or streams, but are down-slope paths, i.e., they are the routes that water (and probably) lava would follow.)
Over the next two days, the lava continued heading north, roughly parallel to the border of Kaohe Homesteads, but bringing into a down-slope path headed towards the town of Pahoa.
About September 10, the lava again shifted more towards the east, heading straight for Pahoa.
The flow is now becoming a source of major concern for people living in and around Pahoa, and if the lava crosses the highway this far north, not only will it cut off Highway 130 (the highway heading due south from Pahoa), it will also cut off Highway 132 (the highway heading east-southeast from Pahoa), stranding about 8,000 residents who live in the south of the Puna District -- Highway 130 is currently the only road in and out.
Since then, the lava has continued in the same general direction is is expected to hit the first road in about one week and the town of Pahoa in about two weeks. It may miss the main part of the town and cross the highway slightly to the north, which would be good for the town, but will still cut it off. How much damage occurs depends on how wide the flow is.
This is a view of the lava flow from the 12th, looking west. In the foreground is Kaohe Homesteads. The town of Pahoa is to the right and behind the photographer.
This is another view, looking in the opposite direction. Pahoa is in the middle-center.
On September 11, the County government began construction work on two alternate routes into and out of the area. There are two roads closer to the ocean, but neither is passable or wide enough for regular traffic. The dotted lines show the alternate routes. There are, however, problems with these routes. Even when the work is done, they will be unpaved roads that cannot handle the 6,000 to 8,000 vehicles that travel on the highway each day. Also, they both feed into a residential area whose roads are also not intended for heavy traffic. Finally, if the lava continues heading in the same general direction, it will eventually cross both of these roads too. If this occurs, the County will probably re-open the route to the southwest that goes through the national park (covered by lava more than 20 years ago). This will provide access, but it's a long way around.
For the last few days, the smoke from the forest burned by the lava, even though it's about eight miles away. In this photo, the smoke is the hazy area in the center, just above the treeline--it's easier to distinguish in person. The smoke has a definite brown tinge.
This photo is looking in the same direction as the daytime shot. It does not look this bright in person--this is a long exposure shot. The bright spot to the left is light reflecting off the clouds from the town of Pahoa.
This is not related to the lava, but while I was taking photos, I took a few of the night sky. This is looking southwest over the trees behind the house.
September 20 Update
The lava continued to advance in the same general direction, although somewhat more slowly. A brush fire broke out to the north of the flow, and although there was not risk to structures, it produced a lot of smoke, which was clearly visible from our house--particularly on the second story. In the afternoon, the wind shifted and picked up, and black ash from burnt vegetation began falling--some of it still recognizable as plant material. The smoke cleared in the late afternoon.
September 22
The lava advanced only about 75 yards yesterday and not at all today. The flow may be stopping, but the consensus seems to be that this is just a temporary stalling. There were some breakouts from the flow further uphill, but nothing significant.
September 24
The low remains stalled at the furthest point, but a breakout a couple of hundred yards uphill from the leading edge advanced about 100 yards to the northwest. The flow is no closer to the road or town.
This photo shows the stalled flow front, the advancing breakout slightly up-slope from the flow front, and the burned area from the brush fire. The "minor brush fire" burned about 350 acres.
September 27
There is still not activity at the flow front and there was only slow movement at the breakouts. Increased activity was reported further up-slope from the front, which may indicate that activity on the front will resume.
September 28
The lava advanced about 25 yards from the front. This could be a resumption of the flow at the front... or not.
October 1
A breakout up-slope of the stalled front has overtaken and extended the front by about 33 yards. It seems that the flow has resumed.
October 3
The lava continued to advance and extended the front by about 295 yards since October 1. Several breakouts were also active along the edge of the flow upslope of the leading edge and midway along the the flow
October 6
The lava is advancing and has picked up speed again. It has advanced about 390 feet per day since the 3rd. It's about 1.1 miles from the nearest road. At the current rate, it is expected to reach the road in about 16 days.
There was another brush fire on the north side of the flow today, and there was a strong odor of smoke all morning. In the afternoon, there was a large plume of smoke in the area of the lava.
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| Some of the ash on the roof (from the office window) |
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| Photo of the lava flow and brush fire from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory |
October 23
The flow slowed substantially and nearly come to a halt over the past couple of weeks or so.
This image from October 14 shows very little forward movement.
This image from October 20, six days later, indicated that the flow had mostly stopped, with just a little widening of near the flow front.
On about the 20th (Monday), however, a narrow breakout behind the flow front began advancing more rapidly and moved past the initial front by Wednesday.
This narrow section advanced about 405 yard from Monday to Wednesday and then another 425 yards from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning.
This map shows the approximate position of the flow front on Thursday afternoon. It is only about 0.3 miles from the road.
On Thursday, Cemetery Road south of the Transfer Station was closed, and the County will be closing the Transfer Station at the end of the day on Friday. A temporary transfer station will be set up at a different location.
If the flow continues at its current pace, it will cross the road near the transfer station in one to two days and could cross the highway -- the only paved route in and out of the entire district south of Pahoa -- in about a week. Stay tuned ...
October 24
The flow continues to advance towards the transfer station. This photo from this morning shows how close it is to the station and the road.
This is the view from the other side.
Another view. You can see the work that the electric company did to four of the utility poles to protect them from the lava. They are encircled by concrete and heat dissipating material.
October 25 (Saturday)
The lava crossed the road at about 4:00 a.m. today.
Here's the lava crossing the road later in the day.
As of mid-afternoon, the lava had advanced about 125 yards past the road and was 0.6 miles from Pahoa Village Road (the main road that goes through Pahoa village) and 1.0 miles from the highway. The County Civil Defense is going door-to-door in the area to warn people and to tell them to be ready to evacuate in as little as three days.
Map showing the one-day advance
October 26 (Sunday)
The lava continues to move quickly. It advanced about 210 yards in less than 24 hours. It has covered the small Pahoa cemetery and continues moving towards Pahoa Village Road. As of 9:30 p.m., the flow was about 600 yards from the road and it moving at 15 to 20 yards per hour.
The dotted line show the most likely flow routes. As of 9:30 tonight, a portion of Pahoa Village Road from Apa'a St. south to Post Office Road (not indicated on the map, but located from about the "g" of "Pahoa Village Rd." towards the northeast) is closed, and residents down slope from the flow were advised that they may have to evacuate as soon as tonight.
Photos from the Hawaii Volcano Observatory of the lava crossing the pasture.
October 27 (Monday)
The lava slowed somewhat today but continue to advance towards Pahoa. From about 6:00 p.m. yesterday to 6:00 p.m. today, it advanced another 100 yards. It is now about 70 yards from the nearest residence and 560 yards from Pahoa Village Road.
Photo from 11:30 a.m.
October 28 (Tuesday)
The lava continued to flow and picked up speed at times. In addition to moving towards town, the flow is widening in areas. It advanced about 165 yards over 24 hours and is now flowing on private property. The breakout upslope of Cemetery Road (not shown on the map) also advanced about 30 yards.
As of 1:00 p.m. the lava was about 430 yards from Pahoa Village Road, and by 6:00 p.m. the distance had decreased to about 370 yards.
One homeowner whose house is directly in the projected path built a large berm 250 feet long to divert the flow around his house. No one knows if this will work or what effect it will have on the flow.
In the afternoon, the flow entered private property, burned an empty shed, and started a fire in a pile of ties and other junk, causing a billow of black smoke. 
Aerial photo of the flow and the burning tires
The lava pushes through a fence marking a property boundary
Some good video of the flow here (with civil defense update).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSC2PZN5cRM
For the past few weeks, the winds have generally been towards the southwest, which has blown all of the smoke away from us. There hasn't been any smoky odor or falling ash here.
October 29 (Wednesday)
The lava is getting closer to homes and the road, but so far, no additional damage has occurred. The flow advanced about 180 yards in the last 24 hours and was 235 yards from Pahoa Village Road at 11:30 a.m.
Local schools are closed. An elementary school that is in the projected flow path (but at least a few weeks away) will be closed and the students will attend school at temporary facilities located at the high school north of the flow (i.e., on the accessible side). Students who attend Pahoa High School (located south of the flow) but live north of the flow will start going to Keaau High School. School resumes next week.
October 30 (Thursday)
The lava is moving slowly and has advanced to about 170 yards from the road. It is very close to the berm that the landowner made. Numerous breakouts are widening the flow in many areas, and a breakout up-slope of Cemetery Road is active and is headed towards the transfer station.
October 31 (Friday)
The flow has advanced only slightly about 170 yards from the road. A breakout up-slope from the leading edge advanced slightly and the breakout headed towards the transfer station is withing 27 yards of the fence.There is also a large breakout further up-slope heading north (bottom-left of the map).
A closer view of the leading part of the flow, looking toward Pāhoa Village Road, which cuts across the top of the photo. The smoke marks where an active breakout is advancing down-slope along the north side of a finger that stalled yesterday.
A hole is left behind by a large tree that was surrounded by lava, burned through at its base, and collapsed onto the solidified flow surface a short time before this photo was taken. The end of the tree trunk is glowing, and flames from burning wood are emanating from the hole.
November 1 (Saturday)
The flow front remains stalled about 170 yards from the road. There are some breakouts further upslope, but no signifciant changes.
November 3 (Monday)
The flow front remains stalled about 170 yards from the road and has widened in some areas, butit hasn't gotten any closer to the road or structures.
November 5 (Wednesday)
There has been almost no activity near the flow front. Some breakouts further upslope showed some activity.
November 10 (Monday)
Still almost no activity near the flow front, but an upslope breakout has been advancing towards the transfer station, and another breakout further upslope has advanced significantly in an open area.
A flow near the cemetery from a few days earlier
Lava approaches one of the protected power poles.
Later in the day, the lava burned the first house.
The height of the flow--and the red roof of the garage--can be seen here.
Lava also flowed onto the paved areas of the Transfer Station, but there hasn't been any damage to structures yet.
November 11 (Tuesday)
No significant advancement of the forward flow today, but the upslope lobe continues to move towards the highway.
November 13 (Thursday)
The flow at the transfer station seems to have stopped. There hasn't been any significant movement by any of the other fronts.
November 14 (Friday)
The upslope lobe continues to advance towards the Transfer Station, but not other significant activity.
November 17 (Monday)
There hasn't been any activity on the flow fronts for several days, but there are several break outs much further upslope. It is not clear if any of these will advance significantly.
November 24 (Monday)
The flow fronts all seem to have completely stalled, but there is some movement from the upslope break outs.
December 1 (Monday)
A small finger of lava has been advancing to the north-northeast. It is following a flow path somewhat to the north of the earlier flows. If it stays on this path, the lava will flow directly through the Pahoa Marketplace, which has a supermarket, gas station, auto service center, medical clinic, a drugstore, several other shops, and the best fish and chips restaurant on the island.
The area where the flow lines is relatively flat, and the flow could follow either or even both of the paths. The more southern route will go through the Pahoa Marketplace, cross the highway, cross a road that leads to a couple of large-ish subdivisions, and then head north through open land to the ocean.
If it takes the more norther route, it will head much further north before crossing the highway (completely missing the Pahoa Marketplace) and possibly cut through a portion of Hawaiian Paradise Park (HPP), a huge subdivision with a relatively high density of homes.
December 9 (Tuesday)
The flow slowed for several days, but has picked up again. It appears to be following the southern path, which will be good for HPP, but bad for the Pahoa Marketplace. The lava is about 2.1 miles from the Marketplace.
December 12 (Friday)
The fllava continues to follow generally in the projected flow path, directly towards the Pahoa Marketplace. It's now about 1.6 miles away.
December 15 (Monday)
The lava continues to flow on the same path at a relatively fast pace. It has advanced about a half mil;e in the last three days and is now about 1.1 miles from the Marketplace. It was announced today that the supermarket (the only major supermarket in all of lower Puna) will close Thursday night, and removal of food and equipment will begin tomorrow. The gas station is scheduled to close on Friday.
December 16 (Tuesday)
The flow advanced 275 yards flow advanced about 275 yards since yesterday, and the leading edge is about 0.9 miles from the Marketplace. The flow width varies from about 33 to 250 yards, and the current flow front is near this maximum width. The most recent news is that the gas station will close tonight. The gas will be removed from the storage tanks, which will then be filled with water and foam. No word yet on what the other stores will be doing.
December 18 (Thursday)
The flow slowed but advanced to about 0.6 miles from the marketplace and divided into two branches.
December 22 (Monday)
The flow continues to advance at a slow pace and is now about 740 yards from the marketplace.
December 30 (Tuesday)
The flow had advanced only slightly in the last week, but has widened and upslope areas are active.
January 4 (Sunday)
The flow front has stalled and has not advanced significantly.There is a new breakout further upslope that has started to advance.
January 6 (Tuesday)
The flow front remains stalled, but one of the upslope breaks is advancing rapidly in a north-northeast direction. Most of the businesses in the marketplace have closed.
January 9 (Friday)
The leading edge remains stalled with some widening, and the upslope breakout advanced further.
January 13 (Tuesday)
There was a breakout from the main flow and the upslope flow continues to advance slowly. There was another brush fire, and it got a little smoky in the afternoon with some ash falling.
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| Ash on the back lanai |
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| Charred fern leaves |
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