‘Kalapana will be forever’

Kalapana — it’s where the road ends and the land of Pele begins.

Thick forest greets ground reclaimed by lava flows, and a large plain of black rock stretches along a rugged coastline to the horizon. It’s barren, yet picturesque, and a reminder how ever-changing the landscape here can be.

Many of the homes and businesses that were there when the Pu‘u ‘O‘o-Kupaianaha eruption began in 1983 have long since been claimed by numerous lava flows that poured down the hillside from the rift zone.

But the memories of those events remain fresh in the minds of those who stayed, and as Kilauea threatens new communities — this time Pahoa and potentially Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Shores — the story can seem quite familiar.

For Weston Yamada, it’s a reminder of the sense of loss the community felt. He said his family’s home was spared when lava reached Kalapana.

But Yamada recalled seeing the molten rock burn homes to the ground as it made numerous paths through Kalapana Gardens until it claimed every inch of the subdivision. He compared what he saw to a “large funeral.”

“I witnessed misery, hearts break,” he said, “the loss of something you cherish so much.”

If the June 27 lava flow, named for the day it emerged from Pu‘u ‘O‘o on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone, reaches residences, Yamada expects similar scenes to be played out time and time again.

“We are going to see people on the side of the road crying,” he said, recalling what he witnessed over two decades ago.

Lava from the eruption, which has yet to show a sign of abating after 31 years, first began to claim homes and lots in the sparsely populated Royal Gardens subdivision in 1983. The last home was destroyed there in 2012.

The threat became real for Kalapana Gardens when flows entered the neighborhood in 1986 and again in 1990 when the devastation became complete.

According to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, 214 structures have been claimed so far as part of the ongoing eruption, which has advanced into new territory for over a year as it directs its flows to the northeast.

As the June 27 flow advances approximately 2 miles from Pahoa, many more could be at risk.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Pahoa had a population of 945 people, while another 4,280 resided within Hawaiian Beaches and Hawaiian Shores, subdivisions also downhill from the flow.

Harry Kim, a former Hawaii County mayor who was Civil Defense administrator when Kalapana was hit by lava, said he expects the impact from the current flow to be much worse, at least in terms of the number of lives affected, if it doesn’t stop soon.

In addition to the homes that are threatened, the lava flow is also on track to block Highway 130, an event that could happen within 21 days based on HVO’s estimates from Friday. If it reaches the highway, as many as 11,000 lower Puna residents will have to rely on alternate routes, some of which are under construction.

“If it crosses anywhere near (Highway) 130, just look at the thousands that will be impacted,” Kim said.

Even after alternate routes are made available, it might only be a matter of time before they are claimed as well since they parallel the highway farther down slope. Then, reopening a 7-mile stretch of Chain of Craters Road, covered by the same flows that took homes in Kalapana and Royal Gardens, may be the only option left.

Kim expects the need for assistance will be greater and longer lasting when compared to what he saw in the 1980s and ’90s.

“The eruptions have been going on this island for millions of years and it will continue,” he said.

“It’s only a question of when and where and how it will affect you. We built there, we zoned there …

“There’s a lot of good people who are scared. There will be hardship if this continues.”

But as the threat becomes more real, some people say they are trying to take it in stride. After all, this is volcano country, and lava flows are nothing new.

Living in lower Puna means having to accept that risk, several residents said.

Amrita McKenzie, who works at the Kava Bar in Pahoa, said she expects the community to come together like it did last month following Tropical Storm Iselle.

“We live on an active volcano. It’s kind of a given,” she said, regarding the threat.

“I think the community is coming together.

“It’s going to be different. Not necessarily bad. Just change.”

Over 7,000 vehicles travel the highway near Pahoa each day, and much of that traffic could eventually be diverted near Kalapana if residents are willing to take an exceptionally long detour on Chain of Craters Road through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Still, Kalapana residents Aku Hauanio and Leslie Doctor weren’t worrying too much about the ifs while talking story at the site of Uncle Robert’s Awa Club and Night Market last Wednesday afternoon. Sometimes people just got to adapt to whatever happens, they said.

“We’ve been through the lava down here back in the ’80s,” Doctor said. “That’s the way these islands were made. You just go with the turf, you know. If that’s the way the flow goes, you just go with the flow.”

He said lava destroyed his family’s drive-in when Kalapana was being inundated.

“Life goes on,” Doctor said. “We’ve been through it.”

Hauanio said he moved his house in 1991 as lava was creeping onto his property.

“When you got to move, you got to move,” he said.

“She (Pele) was right there in my yard … early that morning around 8 o’clock we drove it out and lava came and covered my property.”

Hauanio said it wasn’t easy seeing lava claim his land.

“But you cannot do anything,” he said. “When you got to move, you got to move. Otherwise you lose everything.”

While many homes were lost, a strong sense of community remains for those who still reside in the area, and the property of Robert Keliihoomalu at the end of Kalapana-Kapoho Road remains a popular gathering point, especially during the Wednesday night market.

That resilience comes to no surprise to Kim, who got to know its residents intimately, often consoling them as they watched their homes burn.

He also witnessed the loss of Kaimu Beach, the community’s gem, when it was buried by lava.

A framed picture of the beach hangs in his Hilo home till this day, and he fondly recalls a church gathering at Kaimu shortly before it was covered.

With the black sand underneath his feet, and a soft breeze on his face, he watched the church members as they sang a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

It was hard not to feel emotional, he said, and it’s a moment he will always remember.

And neither will he forget the words from a man who spoke with him that day.

“He said, ‘Harry, we’ll come back.’ I smiled and we hugged,” Kim recalled.

“And some of them never left and some did come back as word started to spread — Kalapana will be forever.”

Kim briefly paused.

“And Pahoa will be forever.”

Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune- herald.com.