County closes Cemetery Road after lava advances 425 yards

Subscribe Now Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber? Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.

The June 27 lava flow is 0.3 miles from Cemetery Road and Apaa Street after covering 425 yards since Wednesday morning, Hawaii County Civil Defense said.

The June 27 lava flow is 0.3 miles from Cemetery Road and Apaa Street after covering 425 yards since Wednesday morning, Hawaii County Civil Defense said.

The county is closing Cemetery Road between the Pahoa transfer station and Kaohe Homesteads Road. Civil Defense staff will also be in the area “around the clock to maintain close observations of flow activity,” the department said.

No evacuation has been ordered.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the new flow front entered a gully, which increased its advance rate from about 87 yards per day over the last week. HVO is not currently estimating when the flow could reach the roads, a spokeswoman said.

Josh Ballauer, a Kaohe Homesteads resident, said he saw the lava flowing like a river early Thursday morning.

He said it was “absolutely stunning.”

“What I saw was a 150-foot-wide lava river that was completely flat on top,” he said.

The next community meeting on the lava flow will be held at 6:30 p.m. today at Pahoa High School cafeteria.