May 21, 2018 Lava Burns Homes
Lava from the current Leilani Estates flow on the Big Island of Hawaii reached the ocean night before last. Of the two dozen fissures that have opened since the eruption began on May 3, several are still issuing red hot liquid rock, which is coursing downhill, destroying homes, cars, roads… and anything else in her path. The fissures are now starting to settle down to an area just south of the PGV Geothermal plant, and building cinder cones. Here she will most likely build a vent that will feed flows throughout the course of the eruption. After crossing Highway 137, both a’a and pahoehoe flows continue to pour over the sea cliffs in great volume just southwest of Pohoiki. Numerous fingers of lava have stretched toward the sea over the past two days, covering many properties… destroying some homes, and sliding by others. Dozens of homes have been destroyed since the eruption began nearly three weeks ago. Although it began in Leilani and burned several homes there, she soon established her vents below the subdivision with towering fountains, spatter cones feeding gigantic lava flows. So far, no deaths have been reported… but one man was injured from flying lava rock. Late on Saturday night, first responders evacuated several residents who had become trapped by the fast moving flows. Pohoiki Road and Highway 137 have both been covered with lava, but Highway 132 is still open as of this writing. No lava is currently erupting in the Leilani Estates subdivision. Mahalo to the kind folks at Paradise Helicopters… they offer the finest charters in the islands!
Mahalo to Paradise Helicopters and Bruce Omori at Extreme Exposure