The state of Hawaii has announced they will create a staging area where residents of the community of Pahoa will be able to watch the lava from the Kilauea volcano consume their homes.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira told the Associated Press it’s a way to help the residents find “a means of closure” in the situation.

The lava was reported to be 70 yards from the first home in its path on Tuesday morning.

A spokeswoman for the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said that the lava’s pace is being controlled by the topography of the area and in some places has slowed significantly as the lava moves up small inclines.

Oliveira says that many of the residents in the path of the volcano have already made arrangements to live somewhere else or have just left their homes in anticipation of the lava.  He said he doesn’t believe he will need to issue a mandatory evacuation order.

The last time lava threatened homes was in 2011, when one home was destroyed before the lava changed course.