The eruption and lava flow from the volcano on Hawaii’s big island has ignited vegetation, causing a fire and forcing additional evacuations.
Below is an update from Hawaii County Civil Defense issued Saturday evening:
This is a Civil Defense Message for Saturday, May 19 at 9:00 in the evening.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to monitor active flows. The flow originating from fissure 20 has again split into two lobes, both are currently heading in the general direction of the 13 mile marker on Highway 137. Flow front #1 is approximately 630 meters from Highway 137 and moving about a 100 meters per hour. Flow front #2 is approximately 750 meters from Highway 137 and moving about the same speed. At the current rate, the lava flow may cross the highway within the next five to seven hours.
Highway 137 is closed between Kamaili Road and Pohoiki Road. Kamaili Road is closed between Highway 130 and Highway 137 due to a brush fire. Residents in the area have been evacuated.
Just for a little bit of scale and a reality check… The two circled white specks are @USGSVolcanoes workers going down to collect lava samples earlier today.
Mother nature! #Kīlauea volcano eruption of lava & ground cracking in the area of #LeilaniEstates subdivision continues. #Hawaii. via @USGSVolcanoes, #KilaueaVolcano, #VolcanKilauea, #volcanoes, #USGS pic.twitter.com/H1PTKQrCOC
— Space Science ? (@InterstelSpace) May 20, 2018
I dont understand this at all,been lookin at youtubes of all this and have been scratching my head to whole time,as hot as lava is,why didnt it cause fires all over the place?..they keep showing how dry the vegetation is,yet it doesnt seem to burn with much intensity.they show trees and power poles burning from the lava up,,but id expect that the fires would be more intense.
i know i have bad punctuation and grammar,and i type in circles ( i talk this way too),but i hope y’all can understand me.
Dave, the FMO at Hawaii explained the vegetation fire situation.