Lava flowing toward homes on Hawaii’s Big Island

Residents in a rural, isolated region of Hawaii’s Big Island still reeling from a recent tropical storm turned their attention to a potential new disaster Thursday as scientists warned that a lava flow from a nearby volcano had moved to within a mile of some homes. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said lava from the Kilauea volcano could reach the Kaohe Homesteads in five to seven days if it continues its steady advance through cracks in the earth. Observatory scientists said the lava has been advancing about 800 feet per day since July 10. They’ve been closely monitoring the flow and on Thursday raised the alert level from “watch” to “warning.” However, the observatory said predicting a flow’s exact path can be difficult because of subtle variations in topography, changes in lava volume and where and how lava enters or exits ground cracks.

It’s very frustrating because even if we look at a five-day period and we tell people to evacuate, it could be weeks before anything happens.

Darryl Oliveira, Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator

Officials said no evacuation has been order yet, and exactly how many people live in the subdivision made up of large, mostly agricultural lots is unclear. The sparsely populated area is part of the Puna region, where Tropical Storm Iselle made landfall about a month ago, toppling trees onto homes and wiping out electricity. The county is asking all of Puna to be on alert because it’s possible the lava could change direction and threaten other communities, he said. It also is advising people to stay away from the Kaohe Homesteads. When scientists first warned the public about the flow two weeks ago, people wanting a glimpse of the lava began taking helicopter tours over Kaohe and increasing traffic in the community, Oliveira said. He stressed that lava can’t be seen from the subdivision. The Kilauea volcano has been continuously erupting since 1983, but new vents - or points where lava reaches the surface - have opened periodically. Lava from the volcano normally doesn’t approach homes, but it did wipe out neighborhoods in 1990.

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