Oliveira Says Lava Still ‘Active’

Hawai’i County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira maintained that no advancement has changed in the June 27 lava flow’s downslope portions during a media conference call late Friday morning.

Oliveira said that following Civil Defense’s overflight Friday morning, no changes or other alarming differences were observed in any of the flow areas. The flight, which occurs on a daily basis, weather permitting, was made to the summit area and the breakouts observed in that area showed limited activity with no major changes.

“Up at the summit area, the previously active breakouts that were close to the vent itself, we didn’t see any significant change or any significant activity,” Oliveira explained.

Breakouts beginning a few hundred yards behind the stalled flow front continue to be observed. These breakouts continue all the way up to the summit area.

“Numerous breakouts were observed on the pad and along both margins. The south margin breakout, above the flow front, about 800 yards back and on the north side about a mile from the highway, both breakouts are very small, with some active burning along the edge and nothing posing any kind of threat to the community,” Oliveira told reporters.

Although there has been very little change in flow activity and advancement towards Highway 130 has been stalled in recent weeks, Oliveira confirmed that there is still a threat. “There is still an indication that we have an active flow and material is making its way down all the way to those downslope areas.”