Hawaiian Electric Light Co. on Friday unveiled its untested technology designed to protect wooden power poles on Hawaii island from the 2,100-degree molten lava from Kilauea Volcano headed toward Pahoa Town.

The concept requires three layers of materials commonly found in the islands: an initial layer of insulation that’s used to keep power plant boilers from overheating; a concrete base with holes normally used to let water flow through drywell culverts; and cinder held onto the pole by "horse wire," HELCO spokeswoman Rhea Lee said.

"No one’s ever tried it before, as far as we know," Lee said. "We are hoping it will keep the pole intact and keep it from burning."

HELCO went through 20 different concepts before settling on the one unveiled Friday. It took a crew just 2 1⁄2 hours to insulate an 18-foot-tall, wooden pole with all three layers in lower Puna at a secret location to avoid vandalism.

The idea is for crews to quickly wrap only poles that are directly in the path of the lava, which on Friday was 1.2 miles from Apaa Street in Pahoa Town and 1.9 miles from Pahoa Village Road.

Because the flow has slowed and stalled since Sept. 22, officials are no longer predicting when lava could reach Pahoa Town or cross Highway 130, the main road in and out of lower Puna.

"It was important for us to have a design that we can erect quickly," Lee said. "It would just be a waste to put these up on all of the poles and the lava didn’t come there."

She did not immediately have a cost for protecting each pole.

Meanwhile, tire tracks and footprints show that people are ignoring a ban on accessing one of two emergency evacuation routes in Hawaii island’s Puna District that would open only if lava crosses Highway 130.

Hawaii County is spending an estimated $3 million to smooth out and gravel over two abandoned dirt roads — Railroad Avenue and a coastal road known variously as Beach Road and Old Government Road — to help more than 8,200 residents get in and out of lower Puna if Highway 130 is cut off.

A message from Hawaii County Civil Defense on Friday emphasized: "The Railroad emergency route is NOT open at this time. The public is reminded that no public vehicles, persons, or activity is allowed within the emergency route until the route is opened."

The newly restored Railroad Avenue allows people access to areas that are normally difficult to reach, and "it’s pretty enticing to want to go out there and see it," said Civil Defense director Darryl Oliveira.

But both Railroad Avenue and Old Government Road are meant to be used only in an emergency and crews plan to install some form of barricade to keep people out, Oliveira said.

The trespassers on Railroad Avenue posed little risk, he said.

"I don’t think it was any kind of vandalism," Oliveira said.

The lava flow is not visible from any public areas, Civil Defense officials said in their message Friday.

A narrow finger of lava at the front of the flow was moving along a wet tree line Friday, producing significant amounts of smoke but no brush fire threat, he said.

In addition to its design to protect power poles, HELCO crews also plan to widen the distance between poles in the lava’s path to allow lava to flow between them.

And HELCO is looking at setting up a "micro-grid" to generate emergency power for lower Puna.

HELCO is also running lines along the one-lane Old Government Road to get additional power into lower Puna.