Lava flows from the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii have grown more vigorous in recent days and there is concern more homes may burn and more evacuations may be ordered. Scientists cannot say if lava flows from nearly two dozen fissures will continue to advance, or stop.
In the weeks since Kilauea began erupting, dozens of homes have burned, people have fled and plumes of steam from the summit have shot skyward, prompting officials to distribute face masks.
“We have no way of knowing whether this is really the beginning or toward the end of this eruption,” said Tom Shea, a volcanologist at the University of Hawaii. “We’re kind of all right now in this world of uncertainty.”
In addition to ash fallout from explosions and the threat of lava crossing main highways, officials warned of another hazard Saturday as a flow advanced south-east to the ocean.
“Laze is when hot lava hits the ocean, sending hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles in the air,” the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency said in an update to the public.
Evacuation orders for two neighborhoods with nearly 2,000 people were given after a first fissure opened on 3 May. Officials have been warning neighboring communities to be prepared to evacuate. A handful of people were trapped when a flow crossed a road on Friday. Some had to be airlifted to safety.
“They shouldn’t be in that area,” said county managing director Wil Okabe.
Civil defense administrator Talmadge Magno said a man suffered a “serious” leg injury on Saturday when he was hit with a lava spatter while sitting on his porch near the Lanipuna Garden subdivision, the Star-Advertiser reported.
Lava flows have become faster new magma mixes with 1955-era magma in the ground, creating hotter and more fluid flows, scientists said. By Saturday morning, two of 22 fissures had merged, creating a wide flow advancing at rates of up to 300 yards per hour. Aerial footage from the USGS showed fast-moving lava advancing to the south-east. The flow was 1.5 miles from the ocean, scientists said.
In the background, the footage showed lava fountaining 328ft at one of the fissures. Fountains are created by vents closing, forcing magma to burst through a single outpoint, geologists said.
Edwin Montoya, who lives with his daughter on her farm near the site where lava crossed the road and cut off access, said the fissure opened and grew quickly. “It was just a little crack in the ground, with a little lava coming out,” he said. “Now it’s a big crater that opened up where the small little crack in the ground was.”
The Big Island volcano released a small explosion at its summit just before midnight on Friday, sending an ash cloud 10,000ft into the sky. The USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said eruptions that create even minor amounts of ashfall could occur at any time.
That followed a more explosive eruption on Thursday, which sent ash and rocks thousands of feet into the sky. No one was injured and there were no reports of damaged property.
The area affected by lava and ash is small compared to the Big Island, which is about 4,000 sq miles. Most of the island and the rest of the Hawaiian chain is unaffected. State and local officials have been reminding tourists that flights in and out of the entire state, including the Big Island, have not been affected. Even on the Big Island, most tourist activities are still available and businesses are open.