Slowing Flow | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION COURTESY HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
A photo taken Friday shows the front of the June 27 flow heading toward Pahoa, shown in the upper right. The flow front was 2.1 miles from Pahoa Village Road. Kaohe Homesteads is seen in the foreground.

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COURTESY HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY
Fallen trees are left in the wake of the June 27 lava flow. The pahoehoe flow is too thin and slow to topple trees as it passes; instead the lava surrounds the trees and burns through the base. When the trees fall over, the flow surface may have cooled enough that the trunks remain intact. Ash is left in the hottest spots.

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Hawaii County firefighters and state Department of Forestry personnel battled a brush fire Saturday above Pahoa that was ignited by Kilauea’s June 27 lava flow.

The fire was reported at 2:45 p.m. and is believed to have started when lava moved through light brush in a vacant lot.

The front of the flow had advanced about 50 yards and had widened to about 150 yards from Friday to Saturday morning, but has not moved farther since then.

"The flow front has slowed considerably over the past day," the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said on its website. "Along with this drop in advancement, webcam views show a reduction in smoke at the front over the past day."

The flow is about 1.4 miles upslope from Apaa Street on the outskirts of Pahoa and has advanced 10.2 miles from its source at Puu Oo crater. The active edge of the surface flow left the northwest corner of the Kaohe Homesteads and moved from the forested area to open land.

"It is not yet clear if this reduction in advance rate is due to a drop in lava supply or simply the flow front filling a small local depression," scientists said. "In either case, the advance rate could rise again in the coming days."

Depending on the speed of the flow, officials said, lava could reach Apaa Road in 13 days, Pahoa Village Road (also known as Government Road) within 18 days, and Highway 130 in 21 days.

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey said fluctuations in the flow advance rate are common for pahoehoe lava.

Meanwhile, the next community update meeting with representatives of Hawaii County Civil Defense and the volcano observatory will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Pahoa High School cafeteria. Also, an information desk will open at 8 a.m. Monday at the Pahoa Community Center.