June 27 Lava Flow Update – 12/13/14

Saturday morning’s June 27 lava flow assessment by Hawai’i County Civil Defense shows that the front of the flow remains active and is burning along the edges.

The flow has advanced about 225 yards since Thursday and is approximately 1.7 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the flow remains on a steepest-descent path that takes it towards the intersection and in the vicinity of the Pahoa Market Place.

The breakout from the lava tube on Dec. 5 continues to be watched closely. Presently, the breakout is weakly active and is about 0.6 miles long. This breakout has also widened the flow field in the area by about 220 yards since Friday.

At the current time, the activity of this portion of the flow does not pose a threat to communities in the area. Civil Defense, along with HVO, will continue to monitor the activity closely for any variations.

On Saturday morning, Civil Defense reported light smoke conditions, with a light north wind blowing smoke in a south-southeast direction. Smoke conditions have the possibility of increasing in some areas and officials advise that individuals who have a history of respiratory issues take precautions and remain indoors.

Light rain occurring in the area has helped reduce smoke and the chance of any fire threat.

HVO officials also said on Saturday morning that tilt at Puʻu ʻŌʻō has an inflationary trend but that the cause is likely the recent rain that has occurred. All other monitoring data has indicated no significant changes at Puʻu ʻŌʻō.

Pahoa Village Road remains open to all traffic, however the public is advised to use caution in the area as some of the protection material remains on the utility poles. Additionally, officials ask the community to respect the privacy of residents in the area that were affected by lava and warn that trespassing onto private property is not permitted.