The June 27 lava flow remains active Wednesday morning but appears to be slowing, the Hawaii County Civil Defense reports.
An overflight Wednesday morning showed that the flow had progressed northeast just 25 yards, or about 75 feet, since Tuesday, Civil Defense says. The flow front was about 0.6 miles upslope of Apaa Street, near the Pahoa Transfer Station.
The flow could reach Apaa Street in the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision of Puna as early as Nov. 1, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials said Monday. The flow has advanced at an average rate of 81 yards per day since Oct. 6. The observatory’s next planned flight over the flow is scheduled for Wednesday.
Between Monday and Tuesday, the flow progressed 45 yards, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense.
All burning activity associated with the lava flow is limited to vegetation in direct contact with the lava and there is no brush fire threat at this time, officials said. Smoke conditions were reported as light to moderate Wednesday morning.
Currently, the lava flow does not pose an immediate threat to area communities and evacuation is not necessary. Civil Defense says it will provide adequate notice to safely evacuate should it become necessary.
However, the state Department of Health suggests that residents dependent on medical services, treatment or supplies and who live in communities that may be cutoff by the advancing lava flow to relocate outside the affected area to ensure continued access to necessary medical support. If the lava flow crosses Highway 130, medical services and supplies will be severely limited and emergency medical service response time may be significantly delayed.
The flow is not visible and cannot be accessed from any public areas, according to Civil Defense. Access to the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision remains restricted to area residents.
The next lava flow community update meeting will be held with representatives from Hawaii County Civil Defense and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the Pahoa High School Cafeteria.
In addition, the County of Hawaii has established an Incident Command Center and Informational Resource Center at the Pāhoa Community Center. Residents are invited to the information center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday next week for answers to their questions.