Madame Pele appeared determined to take out Cemetery Road, her first victim, Saturday morning, Hawaii County Civil Defense said.

Director Darryl Oliveira said Friday’s assessment showed lava coming from the Kilauea Volcano advanced about 300 yards within 24 hours at a pace of about 15 yards per hour.

On Friday the flow was about 250 yards from Apaa Street and about 400 yards away from the closest residence. Oli­veira said those residents had already evacuated and relocated.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported Friday that the leading edge of the flow was moving downslope along two fronts: a narrow finger and a slower-moving and broader lobe that split from the narrow finger and is moving slightly to the southeast.

The narrow finger was 55 yards wide at its leading edge, which was 150 yards from Cemetery Road. The broader lobe, which is moving forward by a few yards per hour, was about 110 yards behind the front of the narrow finger.

Also on Friday, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration asking for federal assistance to supplement local emergency protective measures in Hawaii County.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist Mike Poland said during a conference call with the media Friday that nothing has changed for the projected pathway of the flow. Lava is projected to head toward Pahoa town and cut through the area’s main road, Highway 130.

He said the cross section of the lava tube from the Puu Oo crater has increased to about 2.3 square meters. Last week it was about 1.9 meters and two weeks ago about 2.4 meters. The larger the cross section, the larger the lava flow, officials said.

With the threat of lava becoming more imminent, Hawaii County officials said they’re covering all grounds. Apaa Street remained closed, and the Pahoa Transfer Station shut down at about 6 p.m Friday. A new transfer station location opened above the Pahoa Community Center.

Oliveira said they’re also going door to door to warn residents of the encroaching lava and to get an estimate on how many people may be in need of shelter if the lava flow continues at its current pace. No evacuation has been ordered yet.

Oliveira previously said the county would give residents a three- to five-day window to evacuate.

Along with getting emergency preparations in order, construction has started on a 5-mile stretch of Chain of Craters Road, the area’s third alternative route if lava crosses all roads in and out of the area.

Hawaii County Public Works Director Warren Lee said during the conference call that construction crews are working on the Kala­pana side of the road and on the Hawai‘i Volcano National Park side.

Nearly 8 miles of the road is covered by lava rock from past flows and needs to be rebuilt. The work is estimated to cost between $12 million and $15.5 million.

Lee said crews will work at about 1,000 feet per day, and he anticipates the road will be ready by early December.

"We’ll make it work," he said.

Meanwhile, Hawaii Electric Light Co. sent out a news release Friday stating pole protection measures were being installed on four poles along Apaa Street. The poles were partially encased with heat-resistant and dispersive material to protect them from the heat generated by the lava.

HELCO spokeswoman Ria Lee said Thursday that they’re not certain the design will work, but they’re hopeful.

Also, according to the release, a large diesel generator was relocated to the Kapoho area to provide an alternate source of generation should the flow isolate the area from the islandwide power grid.

They’re also working on the distribution line extension on Government Beach Road, one of the alternative emergency routes. Construction is being done as an alternative means to provide power to Hawaiian Beaches should the existing power distribution lines become inoperable.

The county has been responsible for repair, restoration and re-establishment of alternate routes in and out of affected communities, whereas the state has been working to accommodate about 900 schoolchildren who will be displaced by the lava flow.

The displacement of children has been a sensitive subject in Pahoa, and Karl Ragan, Hawaii island coordinator for Hawaii Pacific Baptist Disaster Relief, said that’s why they’re hosting a Hope in Crisis Workshop from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Puna Baptist Church.

The workshop will give families insight into how children react to disaster and ways to help children find healing.

"We want to give parents tangible tools to talk to kids about their fear and anxiety and how to identify and address stress issues," he said.

One tool will be asking the children to draw pictures of the lava and having the parents interpret the drawings and talking to their children about how they’re feeling.

The workshop is being held with the help of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief organizers, who also provided a similar workshop to families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting tragedy.