Homeowner kept blaze contained until help arrived
A Hawaii island homeowner was able to put out the majority of a blaze that sparked up in the residence near Honokaa Friday night before firefighters arrived, county fire officials said.
The fire started in a storage room just after 10 p.m., and the cause is still being investigated.
Officials said fire personnel arrived at 10:29 p.m. to find the fire mostly contained to the storage room, though it was starting to flash into the living area of the single-family home. Firefighters had the blaze under control less than 10 minutes later and extinguished roughly an hour later.
Damage to the home is estimated at $30,000. Extensive smoke dam- age to the entire structure was also reported.
Active lava delta expands as ocean entry continues
Lava from Kilauea’s middle east rift zone continued to flow Saturday, moving along the coastal plain and entering the ocean near Kupapau.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the ongoing ocean entry was marked by a "weak and variable" plume. The active lava delta has grown to about 165 feet in width.
Meanwhile, lava levels at Puu Oo remained high.
Geologists reported that the north rim of the northeast spatter cone collapsed at 11:30 a.m. The collapse was followed by a brief overflow that almost reached the north edge of the crater floor.
Two larger flows followed over the next several hours, at first advancing to the west before splitting and going north and south at the base of the west crater wall. At the summit, the lava lake level fluctuated but generally remained high and stable below the inner ledge, the observatory reported.
Jan. 3 will mark the 30th anniversary of Kilauea’s current eruptive phase.
