As the lava flow from Kilauea continues to progress into the town of Pahoa, city officials are being informed by scientists that it’s likely the town will be cut in half if the lava continues its current path.
The flow is expected to reach Pahoa Village Road late Wednesday, cutting off one of the two major roadways where residents can escape the lava flow. The second road, Highway 130, is only half a mile from the Pahoa Village Road.
Officials say they are resisting mandatory evacuation orders despite the lava igniting a tire fire at a dump in the flow path. The toxic smoke from the fire is reportedly blowing away from residential areas.
Matt Patrick of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says the flow is moving erratically and is causing problems for forecasters trying to predict path and speed.
The lava’s pace had picked up when it reached a gully. The flow could then move like rain in a gutter.
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.
The lava flow from a Hawaiian volcano is threatening to overtake a town.
The flow from the Kilauea volcano, which has been continuously erupting since 1983, has crossed the border of the community of Pahoa. The flow covered the town’s cemetery over the weekend and is steadily progressing toward homes.
“The flow continues to remain active and has advanced approximately 275 yards since yesterday morning,” government officials reported Monday morning.
The Associated Press says the lava flow has been slowly moving toward the town for the last two years. The governor has asked for a Presidential disaster declaration to make federal money available for evacuation and relocation of the town’s residents.
“The effect of the destruction and/or isolation of the businesses and other institutions in Pahoa will be devastating to the entire Puna District,” the governor wrote in his request, according to West Hawaii Today.
