1/1
Swipe or click to see more
USGS / HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
This image from video taken Monday shows the view through a skylight on the lava tube
Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
The front of a lava flow from Kilauea Volcano has not advanced since late last week, but a "small breakout flow" upslope from the leading edge has moved about 100 yards north, Hawaii County Civil Defense officials said Monday.
The breakout flow, however, does not pose an immediate threat to area communities, and no evacuation is required, according to Civil Defense.
Law enforcement officers with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources are investigating a Hilo company that allegedly has been leading lava sightseeing tours through the rural Kaohe Homesteads subdivision, which is near the flow but off-limits to nonresidents, said Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira.
Civil Defense officials told the company Friday and again last weekend that the area is off-limits, and the tour groups were turned away by security, Oliveira said.
Because of the dangers from the flowing lava, DLNR officials last week closed the nearby Wao Kele o Puna Forest Reserve and the Kahaualea Natural Area Reserve.
A proclamation that Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed earlier this month related to the lava flow calls for enhanced penalties of up to $5,000 for a first offense for violating the bans on entering the Wao Kele o Puna and Kahaualea reserves.
DLNR Director William Aila Jr. has previously said that his agency will prosecute any trespassers "who willfully violate the closures and place enforcement officers and emergency personnel at increased risk."