County Schedules Community Lava Meeting

Hawai’i County has announced that a June 27 lava flow community meeting at the Pahoa High School Cafeteria will be held on Thursday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m.

Representatives from Hawai’i County, Hawai’i County Civil Defense, and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will be present to discuss the current lava flow activity and procedures.

With HVO’s March 25 announcement of downgrading the lava flow threat from a Warning to a Watch, Civil Defense made the decision to step back from daily overflight assessment and updates on the flow’s status.

Decisions from both HVO and Civil Defense followed weeks-long observations of stalled flow fronts and lack of downslope activity, with concentrated activity and breakouts upslope near the Puʻu ʻŌʻō summit.

HVO reported Tuesday morning that the upslope portion of the June 27 lava flow continues to be active but that all active areas were within 4 miles of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Webcams showed that three areas of breakouts continued, including the Feb. 21 breakout along the northeast flank of Puʻu ʻŌʻō, an area near Pu’u Kahauale’a, and an area about 3-4 miles northeast of Puʻu ʻŌʻō. No activity in the downslope areas of the flow appear to be active.

Thursday’s meeting will be the first community lava meeting since Civil Defense suspended the meetings on February 10 as lava activity began to stall.