Flow too slow for forecast of lava’s path

Because lava aimed at Hawaii island’s Pahoa town has slowed so much, Civil Defense officials and volcano scientists are no longer predicting when it could reach Pahoa and cross Highway 130, the main artery into lower Puna.

"We all know that essentially the flow front stalled" after Sept. 22, said Steve Brantley, acting scientist in charge for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory.

So "it didn’t make any sense" to continue to forecast when the lava could reach Apaa Street in Pahoa or cover Highway 130, he said.

In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi said the lack of significant progress is good news for people, homes and other structures in the path of the lava. But that same "lack of progress and stalling and change of directions adds to the frustration and uncertainty" among residents, he said.

Since Friday, "small, sluggish flows" have moved less than 100 feet per day, Brantley said, suggesting there is less lava being produced by Kilauea Volcano.

But, Brantley warned, that "does not mean the discharge will not increase again."

Kenoi also said his office is working with Hawaii’s congressional delegation in an effort to tweak a decision by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Environmental Planning to rebuild 5.4 miles of Chain of Craters Road inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park as two lanes rather than one.

County and state officials are proceeding with rebuilding their nearly 4-mile portions of lava-covered Chain of Craters Road on county and state land as two lanes that would offer an escape route for 8,500 lower Puna residents if lava covers Highway 130.

But park officials plan to rebuild their section of Chain of Craters Road on federal land as one lane of unpaved road to lessen the impact on sensitive Hawaiian archaeological sites and endangered species such as the nene goose, the official state bird.

"We’re committed to a two-lane road," Kenoi said. "It’s not something we want to have. It’s absolutely something we need to have for our residents of lower Puna. We feel very positive about that happening. We’re working on it every day, and we’re moving forward."