Lava flow front remains stalled in Pahoa town

PAHOA » The leading edge of the June 27 lava flow on Hawaii island remained stalled a little more than a half-mile from Pahoa Marketplace on Christmas morning.

Hawaii County Civil Defense reported Thursday that the front of the flow was stationary about 0.6 miles away from the intersection of Pahoa Village Road and Highway 130, where it has sat idle since Monday.

Earlier this week, lava was projected to hit within about a week, but officials say the current activity does not pose an immediate threat to area residents. Hawaii island geologists say Kilauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit, and crews were still seeing surface breakouts behind the flow front Thursday morning.

Mapping on the ground Wednesday by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory found flow activity behind the inactive front in several areas, including a breakout that advanced 60 yards on the flow front’s southern lobe.

The Malama Market grocery store in Pahoa closed a week ago in preparation for possible disaster, while the Longs Drugs nearby cleared its shelves last weekend.

The flow has been threatening Pahoa town, which has a population of about 900, for months. In October it burned a house and covered part of a cemetery but stalled just before reaching Pahoa’s main road.

A lava viewing station opened to the public last week at the Pahoa Recycling and Transfer Station.