A stream of lava set a home on fire in a rural Hawaii town that has been watching the slow-moving flow for months. The molten rock hit the house around midday.
In the 1990s, about 200 homes were destroyed by lava flows from Kilauea. The last evacuations from the volcano came in 2011. One home was destroyed and others were threatened before the lava changed course.
Located on the island's southeast side, the area is made up of subdivisions that have unpaved roads of volcanic rock that are not maintained by the county. People live off the grid on solar power and catchment water systems.
Because the lava could change direction, any community in Puna is at risk. Everyone in the district lives on the volcano. The lush, agricultural district is about a 30-minute drive from the coastal town of Hilo.
The lava has advanced and slowed as residents waited, watched and worried. Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. Most lava from this eruption has flowed south, while the lava has flowed to the northeast over the past two years.
Scientists began warning the public about the lava on Aug. 22. The warning came as residents were cleaning up from a tropical storm that made landfall over the Puna district, toppling trees and knocking out electricity.
Those living downslope of the flow are under an evacuation advisory. Most residents have found places to go or have already left on their own.
The lava was about 100 yards (91 meters) from a home Monday morning, officials said. After weeks of fitful advancement, the lava crossed Apaa Street on Sunday in Pahoa Village, considered a main town of the Big Island's isolated and rural Puna
Forest minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan views a photo exhibition organised by the Travancore Natural History Society as part of wild life week celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. (Photo: DC)
Hawaii officials will make arrangements for those living in the path of a lava flow to watch the destruction of their homes. That accommodation is being made to "provide for a means of closure," Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira
Many residents have evacuated or are ready to leave if necessary.
Crews have been working on alternate routes to be used when lava hits Highway 130, considered a lifeline for the Puna district.
The leading edge remained about 480 feet from Pahoa Village Road, the main route that goes through downtown.
The leading edge of the molten rock had stalled Oct 30, but lava was breaking away at several spots up slope.
He said officials made arrangements for homeowners to watch any homes burn as a means of closure and to document the destruction for insurance purposes.
Firefighters will basically let a structure burn but fight any fires that spread or threaten other structures, Oliveira said. A relative of the home's owners, who live on the mainland, was planning to be at the site to watch the house burn, Oliveira
Since then, it smothered part of a cemetery and burned down a garden shed. It also burned tires, some metal materials and mostly vegetation in its path.
It could take 30 to 40 minutes for the home to burn down, said Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira yesterday. The lava from Kilauea volcano emerged from a vent in June and entered Pahoa Oct 26, when it crossed a country road at the