Lava poured into two oceanfront Big Island neighborhoods quickly, covering hundreds of homes, vaporizing a nearby crater lake and filling an ocean bay, turning it into a new mile-long (1.6 kilometer) peninsula.

Officials with the S Geological Survey said Wednesday that the entire neighborhood of Vacationland has been covered by lava, and the nearby Kapoho subdivision has only a few structures remaining.

County officials say there are 279 homes between the two coastal communities, and most are feared to be destroyed. At least 117 homes have already been taken by lava in the Lanipuna Gardens and Leilani Estates neighborhoods where lava surfaced more than a month ago.

Scientists are still recording vigorous volcanic activity in the area and say there's no way to know when it will end.