Videos: Lava Hits Kapoho Bay, Hundreds of Structures Destroyed

Videographer Mick Kalber posted this video of an overflight of the Kapoho area of the Big Island with Paradise Helicopters on Monday, June 4, 2018.

June 4, 2018 Lava Hits Kapoho Bay from Mick Kalber on Vimeo.

Kalber states:

Kīlauea Volcano’s Fissure #8 continues blasting hundreds of feet into the air, sending hot liquid rock downslope in rivers—some six miles to Kapoho Bay. She [Pele, the volcano goddess] entered the water last night and is tearing through the beach community of Kapoho Beach Lots on the Big Island of Hawai‘i.

Home after home is being consumed in the exclusive gated community, as Pele continues her relentless march over the lower Puna area. This is the distal tip of the Leilani Estates lava flow, which began with an eruption in that subdivision just over a month ago.

She has now destroyed hundreds of structures, covered miles of roads and blanketed thousands of acres of property.

The fissure continues to issue huge volumes of hot rock into a lava river, running across the subdivision and collecting in a gigantic perched pond (storage area), which feeds lava downslope to Kapoho.

The flow front has now cut off several roads here, leaving many residents stranded. Road crews are working feverishly to open new routes. Additionally, several fingers of lava are now stretching to the northeast, toward an area known as Wa‘a Wa‘a.

She entered Green Lake last Saturday, evaporated the water with her fiery flow, sending a plume skyward, then destroyed houses and other structures in the agricultural area across the street. She continued to Kapoho Beach Lots… Vacationland to the south may be next.

Back upslope, earlier flows headed East-Northeast of concern to residents of Nanawale and Hawaiian Beaches/Shores continue to be stalled out… nearly all the activity is now in the channelized river, or oozing out here and there from small breaches in the walls of the pond.

That perched pond however, holds a vast amount of lava… and should a major breach occur, could send volumes of red hot lava streaming in almost any direction.

As I’ve said many times, I’m a volcanographer, NOT a volcanologist… so these are merely my personal observations… please take them for what they are worth.

Sen. Kaiali‘i Kahele posted the following video of a flyover he took with the Hawai‘i Island National Guard at 7:15 p.m. on Sunday, June 3, 2018.

“Final flyover before it got too dark,” said Sen. Kahele

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory stated:

This short video compilation shows conditions at Kapoho Bay during a helicopter overflight on June 4, 2018, around 6:15 a.m. and again around 1:38 p.m.

By 6:15 a.m., lava from fissure 8 has been entering the ocean for over seven hours. The ocean entry is about a half-mile wide and lava is building a delta a few hundred yards into the bay. The flow sends a large laze plume into the air along the coastline.

In the second video, taken about seven hours later (around 1:38 p.m.), lava is filling the shallow bay.

Ikaika Marzo posted the following video:

https://www.facebook.com/ikaika.marzo/posts/1825769987475529

Marzo states:

Video taken a few hours ago. This shows the extent of the damage the flow did to Kapoho. Kapoho bay has almost disappeared. The flow front is approximately .5 miles wide and spreading at the seams 1/2 mile above the ocean entry. Also a few fingers have broken out from the channelized flow uprift of the ocean entry. A flow has broken off of the channelized flow uphill of Green Mountain and has started to flow on the southern end of Green Mountain towards highway 137 and another flow has also started to flow towards Wa’aWa’a. This Wa’a Wa’a flow has not pose any threat yet but it has the potential to do pose a threat later on if it keeps on flowing. I will be keeping tabs on those flows. Aloha everyone and stay safe. #stayclassypuna #alohaforpuna