Lava Covering Puna Subdivision .. AGAIN

So this morning, I go get my newspaper, and across the top in huge letters I see Lava Invades Puna Subdivision and my heart starts racing because the last I heard, the lava was on a course straight for Ainaola area, and if it hit there, it could eventually cross the Highway, hit Leilani Estates, and cut off all of lower Puna - this would be a BIG DEAL if it happened - thousands of houses would be affected in some way. I lived for 10 years in a subdivision just a few miles from all these areas - this would have been HUGE if this is what had been going on.

But no, the subdivision that is getting lava creeping in is Royal Gardens, the same one that was partially covered years ago. Ok, relax everyone. What this probably means (in my mind - but I am NO volcanologist :) ) is that Ainaola and Leilani and Hawaiian Paradise Park and Highway 130 are all SAFE .... for now. The lava will do what the lava does and follow the path of least resistance to the ocean and we'll get great views again and the county may open the county side of the lava viewing area to the public and on and on and on. :) Don't you just love Kilauea Volcano?

So, what's cool about this is that people still live in Royal Gardens. My paper (article here, but you must register) shows this guy, Dean Schneider, standing in front of his ramshackle house (it may even be a 40 foot shipping container with a porch on it, I can't tell), next to his motorcyle, saluting the helicopter that just dropped in to tell him the lava is coming. He said 'thanks!' and "politely but firmly" declined an offer to haul him out of there. I can just imagine him hearing the approach of the lava in the crackling of the underbrush around his place, smelling the burning brush, looking out and seeing the red glow, maybe even feeling the heat - he could throw together a few of his most prized possesions in a sheet or backpack, strap them on his back, and haul a$$ out of there on his motorcyle, having the time of his life! What a great story! Or, maybe he's good friends with Pele, and the lava would magically part as it goes on either side of his land, leaving him with the exact same way of life and an even better story. :) Ahhh the possibilities when you live on the edge.

There is apparently an Inn in Royal Gardens too, called the Lava Side INN. I can't find much about it, apparently the way to get hooked up with it is through one of the helicopter companies. Here's too articles I did find about it: Pictures and acave.us and lava Dude.

The folks at Punaweb are talking about this a bit, on the same thread that started months ago. Here's some pictures at Wailuku Photo including the Dean Schneider one.

Photo courtesy of USGS Notice Pu'u 'O'o in the upper left, royal gardens down the right side, and some house in the middle of royal gardens.

Current Lava Flow Pictures - Kilauea Volcano

Well, Flossie was a dud - thank goodness. It was a little weird watching the CNN anchor guy go on and on about how 'the Big Island is being hammered by Hurricane Flossie' and then to look out the window and see no rain or wind at all. LOL. Those news guys just plain LIE to make things exciting.

The volcano is still quite exciting and a little scary though - a visitor did a helicopter flyover on August 24th and sent me these pictures. Thanks!

The thread "Volcano acting up" at Punaweb.org is a fascinating discussion between several people who all seem to have some degree of concern that the volcano *is* a threat to their homes and property in the near future. The concern is that if the lava continues on its current course it will hit Pahoa and cover highway 130, the only egress out of lower Puna. The current volcano expert being quoted in the paper says that the topography of the land makes it unlikely the lava will go that way, and that in the past it has taken lava years to travel that distance (4 to 6 miles to Pahoa I think) - both of which seem like pretty good arguments.

However, these are some pretty populated areas these days, and people are nervous .. especially people who are fresh off the boat :) who haven't been through this before.

The county has made a new website: http://www.lavainfo.us/ to keep us all informed on a minute to minute basis.

Poster glennoid at the forum I linked to above created this overlay of the current lava flow map on a Google earth map to give a fascinating idea of just where exactly this current flow is on the Big Island. The white square in the upper left is a map of the lava flow, and the red stuff is the most recent lava. All those green areas dotted with clouds are populated - houses and small towns and parks and thousands of families.