June 27 Lava Flow Update – 11/26/14

Hawai’i County Civil Defense’s Wednesday morning June 27 lava flow assessment showed that the upslope breakouts of the flow remain active.

The breakouts are currently located beginning at about 3.2 miles upslope of Apa’a Street. The flows in the area consist of surface breakouts along the margins of the flow, as well as on the flow pad.

According to Civil Defense, none of the breakout activity is currently posing any threat to residents in the area, but the flow activity will continue to be closely monitored.

As per usual, residents in the downslope area will be kept informed of the status of the flow, and its advancement.

Pahoa Village Road has been reopened as of 12 p.m. Wednesday. Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira encourages motorists to drive with caution as the road still poses some hazards. Additionally, access to a viewing area is not available, or permitted, along Pahoa Village Road.

“We are asking that motorists still drive with caution because we have the sawhorses with the flashers around some of the areas that have the poles with protective measures. Even though the lane is clear and open, we want to raise awareness that are wider based poles in some of those areas,” Oliveira said in a Monday morning media briefing.

Hawai’i Police Department officers, along with National Guard personnel, will monitor the road to ensure safety and security. Public works personal made surf that precautions were taken so that the road reopening would be safe without any hazards.

“We also want to encourage people not to stop. We are discouraging motorists from stopping to see what is being some of those areas and what happened with the lava flow,” Oliveira explained. “It’s on private property and we are trying to respect the privacy of those residents, plus try to minimize some of the traffic hazards of people driving through the area.”

Civil Defense, along with public safety personnel will continue to keep a close watch of flow activity to ensure public safety over the Thanksgiving holiday.