Pele burns hale
The first home to be claimed by lava since the flow entered Pahoa two weeks ago was surrounded shortly before noon and collapsed less than an hour later.
On November 4, the lava flow was about 12 feet thick.
On October 25, just a few hours after the flow crossed Apaa road, the lava was only about 3 feet thick.
These photos were taken where lava crossed Apa?a Street / Cemetery Road. On October 25 (left), just a few hours after the flow crossed the road, the lava was only about 3 feet thick. Ten days later, on November 4 (right), the flow was about 12 feet thick. The cinder pile surrounding the power pole provides a sense of scale for the inflation.
In this Nov. 8, 2014 photo from the U.S. Geological Survey, a tree lies where it has fallen after lava flow burned through its lower trunk near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. Hawaii County civil defense officials said in a statement Saturday the lava's front remains about 480 feet from Pahoa Village Road. This position hasn't changed since Oct. 30. But lava is creeping out at several spots upslope of the leading edge. (AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)
The active flow lobe advancing along Cemetery Road / Apaa Street approaches a new steel power pole that is surrounded by a cinder barrier Sunday.
This thermal image taken Friday clearly shows the distribution of active breakouts (white and yellow spots), some of which were active around the cemetery. The leading tip of the flow, near P?hoa Village Road, has stalled and has lower temperatures (red colors). Farther upslope, breakouts are active near the transfer station and are also scattered several kilometers upslope of Cemetery Road.
This Nov. 7, 2014 photo from the U.S. Geological Survey shows a time lapse camera that USGS Hawaii Volcano Observatory scientists were using to monitor a lava tube skylight near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. The camera was caught in an overflow of lava surrounding the tripod and melted the power cable. Hawaii County civil defense officials said in a statement Saturday the lava's front remains about 480 feet from Pahoa Village Road. This position hasn't changed since Oct. 30. But lava is creeping out at several spots upslope of the leading edge.(AP Photo/U.S. Geological Survey)
A breakout from Kilauea’s June 27 flow oozed Monday toward a house near Pahoa’s Cemetery Road that it would ignite at about noon.
As officials stood by Monday, flames leaped up the wall of a house on Pahoa’s Cemetery Road after a breakout from Kilauea’s June 27 flow reached the structure.
Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s so-called June 27 flow ignited its first house in Pahoa on Monday and threatened more destruction in the days ahead.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said a finger of the flow entered a residential property on Cemetery Road on Sunday morning, then inched around the sidewalk before setting the house ablaze at about 11:55 a.m. Monday.
The house collapsed at about 12:45 p.m., he said.
It was the first house to go up in flames since the lava moved into Pahoa more than two weeks ago. Since then the lava has crossed Apaa Street, overrun a Buddhist cemetery and destroyed multiple structures.
Oliveira said a garage/barn structure also on the property remains intact — for now.
"The flow is widening enough, and we’re hopeful that things will cool down enough that the structure will be spared, but it’s possible it could catch on fire as well," he said.
As of Monday afternoon the width of the flow on the property was about 150 feet and was nearing a fishpond.
According to county documents, the 45-acre lot belongs to Mary and Woodrow Pelfrey as part of a trust called Four Pelfrey TR, based in Fairview, Ore.
They bought the property in 1985 for $54,700.
Until Monday the value was about $200,000, Oliveira said.
The Pelfreys built the ranch-style two-bedroom, two-bathroom house in 1992.
Oliveira said one of their family members living on the north side of the island visited the house Monday.
KHON2 quoted that family member, James Pelfrey, as sending his thoughts and prayers to the renters of the property and reminiscing about the home that’s been in his family for decades.
Officials previously said homeowners will be allowed to make arrangements to watch their homes burn down as a means of closure and to document the destruction for insurance purposes.
While it’s still uncertain as to where the pahoehoe lava will go next, Civil Defense officials said they’re watching the flow closely.
Three active breakouts are being monitored in the areas of the cemetery below Apaa Street, in the area west or above the transfer station, and upslope about 0.4 mile from Apaa Street.
One lobe is approaching the fence of the transfer station, another is heading toward abandoned buildings across the street and a third is moving along the margin of the existing lava flow and approaching a power pole.
The lava was moving at a rate of 3 to 5 yards per hour Monday.
And while the front of the flow remained stalled about 480 feet from Pahoa Village Road, Oliveira said, county officials are still apprehensive about opening the road to through traffic. Thermal imagery shows there’s still some activity near the flow front.
Over the weekend, volcano scientists released photos of lava on Apaa Road that showed how the flow has been inflating since the front stalled.
The contrasting photos show lava crossing Apaa Road on Oct. 25 and the lava on the road on Nov. 4. When the lava first crossed the road, it was 3 feet thick, but 10 days later, on Nov. 4, it was 12 feet thick.
A power pole, surrounded by lava in the photos, gives some perspective on the inflation and how high the lava has risen.
Also on Monday about 400 students whose school is in the projected path of the lava flow started classes in portable buildings set up in the parking lot of Keaau High School. The newly created Keonepoko North School replaces Keonepoko Elementary School in Hawaiian Beaches.
Another 450 students at other Pahoa-area schools also started classes Monday in Keaau.
Donalyn Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education, said the transition went well Monday.
"Overall it went pretty smoothly," she said. "There were several absences. We’re waiting to see what happens on Wednesday."
Tuesday is Veterans Day.
She said there was some confusion with parents taking kids to the wrong schools, but other than that there were no reported problems.
There has been increased traffic in the area, but school officials intend to address traffic concerns over the next few weeks, she said.
Schools in the area were closed last month to prepare for the transfer of about 1,700 students and 300 employees to other schools on their side of the lava’s projected path.
Classes resumed Friday at Pahoa High School with hundreds of new students who had been attending Keaau High School.
