HILO » A larger crowd than usual attended the weekly lava update meeting in Pahoa on Thursday night following news that Madame Pele’s path had quickly advanced.
A narrow finger of the 13-mile-long lava flow from Kilauea Volcano has advanced more than 450 yards since Wednesday, and officials believe it could hit Cemetery Road on Friday.
The news brought out representatives from the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Organization, the U.S. Postal Service, Hawaii Community College, Catholic Charities and more who were available for questions from the hundreds of residents who packed the cafeteria of Pahoa High School.
Mike Poland, a research geophysicist at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, told the crowd that one thing was for certain:The flow remains steady.
"Because we can see it," he said pointing toward a picture of the beginning of the lava tube near the Puu Oo vent.
Theresa Zendejas was one of those residents listening to Thursday’s presentation. She lives at the end of Apaa Street, where the flow is active about a quarter-mile away. As of Thursday the county closed the road, but she said that is not enough to make her leave yet.
"I’m waiting for an evacuation or for when the vog gets too bad I can’t breathe," she said.
County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said that an evacuation order would not be issued until the lava was about three to five days away from affecting nearby residents. Earlier in the day he told members of the media that officials suspect the flow will slow again.
That being said, the flow is still too close for comfort.
"I know this is an extremely frustrating event to go through," Oliveira said before letting the public know that there will be mental health services provided to residents in need. "Even though it’s happening so slow, it could still be devastating in the long run."
Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi echoed those sentiments and praised the hard work of county officials over the past few weeks and months.
"We had Hurricane Ana come towards us, then move away and stay away, and we we’re like, ‘Wooh!’ Then, next thing you know, we have lava move 400 yards, and it’s like, ‘OK. Let’s go. We got this,’" he said.
The encroaching lava flow generated discussions about the threat to health care access, utilities and air quality.
Oliveira said earlier Thursday that the county is working with the state Departments of Health and Education and area charter schools to monitor daily air quality at school sites downwind from the flow.
He’s also advising residents to remove any hazardous debris that might be ignited by the lava to reduce the chance of potentially harmful emissions, which he maintains could become a concern.
Meanwhile, Hawaii Electric Light Co. crews were on Apaa Street attempting to speed up work on protecting poles in hopes insulation placed on them will be strong enough to withstand the lava.
"It’s an experimental design," said Ria Lee, public information officer for HELCO. "We don’t know if it’s going to work, but hopefully it will work."
One of the poles is a major transmission line in the area.
Oliveira also informed the public that the Pahoa Transfer Station will also close Friday. There will be an alternative refuse transfer station behind the community center.
He also said the county has asked the National Guard for assistance.
Currently there’s an Incident Command Center and Informational Resource Center at the Pahoa Community Center that is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday to answer questions from residents. There will also be a workshop Saturday at the Puna Baptist Church on how to help children react to disasters.
Disaster seems to be a term this small community is becoming acquainted with all too well, and like Kenoi said before ending Thursday’s meeting, it’s a time when "everyone’s going to have to help each other."
