Lava advances about 85 yards, flow is now 0.6 miles from Pahoa
This image from Oct. 10 shows the advancing towards the northeast. The flow front was still narrow, about 600 feet wide.
Kaohe Homesteads subdivision can be seen in the upper left of a photo taken Friday of the Puna lava flow.
A thermal image of the flow front, which consisted of several lobes moving through thick vegetation. Yellow and white areas are active breakouts on the surface, while the red and purple areas are cooling crust.
Comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image. The white box shows the rough extent of the thermal image. The thermal image shows active breakouts (white and yellow areas) focused at the flow front but also scattered behind the front.
Lava advanced about 85 yards since Sunday and the front of the flow is a little more than a half-mile from the outskirts of Pahoa, officials said after a morning overflight by Hawaii County Civil Defense.
On Sunday, a finger of lava that broke out north the main flow, advanced past the former leading edge of the lava flow and became the new flow front. The lava finger advanced about 60-yards on Sunday.
According to Civil Defense, all burning activity is limited to vegetation in direct contact with the flow and is producing moderate to heavy smoke conditions in the Kaohe Homesteads area.
The front of the flow is about 0.6 miles from the Apaa Street area near the Pahoa Transfer Station.
The lava is not an immediate threat to homes and no evacuations have been ordered.
A community meeting is scheduled for Thursday night at Pahoa High School to update the public on the lava flow. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. and will include officials from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawaii County.
The lava flow started its course toward Hawaii island’s Pahoa town from Kilauea Volcano’s Puu Oo vent on June 27.
Civil Defense officials reminded the public that the flow is not visible and cannot be accessed from public areas. Access to the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision continues to be restricted to area residents only.
