The leading edge of the June 27 lava flow remained at a standstill Monday.
“This morning’s overflight of the flow front showed that it hadn’t moved,” said Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira. “The activity on that flow front has also been pretty minimal as far as any burning.”
The front remains about 0.8 miles from Apa‘a Road on the outskirts of Pahoa.
The source of the lava has continued to send it down the mountain through a lava tube network, however. Further upslope from the flow front, Civil Defense and scientists with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory are closely monitoring a finger of lava that advanced about 30 yards since Sunday, Oliveira explained as part of a Monday press briefing.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Tuesday that the finger of lava is about a day or two from overtaking the current tip of the June 27 flow.
“It hasn’t caught up with the flow front itself,” Oliveira said. “There is no active flow any closer to Apa‘a Street, and there has been little burning activity.”
The underbrush on the ground near the flow received a lot of moisture this weekend courtesy of Hurricane Ana, and it remains very wet, cutting down on the possibility of the lava sparking brush fires.
Meanwhile, the county announced the next lava flow community update meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Pahoa High School cafeteria. The meeting will feature representatives from Hawaii County Civil Defense and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
In addition, the county established an Incident Command Center and Informational Resource Center at the Pahoa Community Center. Residents are invited to the information center from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday for answers to their questions.
For the latest Civil Defense message, go to www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts/. For more information, contact Hawaii County Civil Defense at 808-935-0031.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.