June 28, 2018 Lava Flow Expands
Once again, swirling winds made for a difficult flight to the Leilani Eruption flow field today. The fountains of Fissure 8 were lower… but activity within the nearly 200-foot high cone was massive. Pele continues to generate 6-9 million cubic meters of lava per day from the vent. She sends this enormous amount of hot liquid rock downslope in rivers… to the ocean entry some eight miles below. The river is widening here and there, but showing few signs of overflowing. The flow front is ever growing… now two and a half miles across, where two beach communities stood just three weeks ago. She’s pushing south, and is within a half mile of the Alahanui Hot Pond and the Kua O Ka La Charter School. Pele has also reactivated on the north end of Kapoho Beach Lots… near the homes there and in the ag lots just mauka. Earlier this month, hundreds of homes were destroyed in Kapoho Beach lots and Vacationland to the south… only a handful remain at the north end of Kapoho Bay. We saw a structure burning in the ag lots yesterday, but CD claims no structures were lost. More will be revealed tomorrow morning. Pilot Sean Regehr flew us expertly once again. Special Guest Abraham Williams, Leilani, Abraham Lincoln Ducky, Bruce Omori and I captured everything we could over the amazing flow field of the current Leilani Eruption… appreciate your expertise greatly, Sean… and kudos to Paradise Helicopters for making this happen!
Mahalo to Paradise Helicopters and Bruce Omori at Extreme Exposure