Lava flow slows down

The new leading edge of the June 27 lava flow moved 170 yards between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing it within about 435 yards of a fork in its predicted path.

The lava could veer northward in the direction of the Ainaloa subdivision, veer southward toward the Pahoa Marketplace and the northern end of town, it could do both at the same time, or it could stop altogether, said Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicist Mike Poland during a Thursday media update.

“It might be next week before we have a feel (of which direction the flow could travel),” he said. “We’ve seen a slowdown, which is what we expected to see because of deflation at the summit (of Kilauea). We expect to see (the lava flow) slowly advance into the area where the flow lines converge, and then slowly advance out of it.”

Poland said that should the lava flow reach the area where predicted lines of steepest descent on the hillside come together in a very narrow area before splitting in different directions, it could slow considerably since the energy driving the fingers of lava will be divided.

The new flow front remained about 2.5 miles upslope from Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road, explained Darryl Oliveira, Hawaii County Civil Defense administrator.

“The flow front was active this morning,” he said, “but we did see a slowdown in its rate of advancement.”

The lava has been burning through a variety of different flora, from light vegetation to heavier forest, he said, but chances of wildfires are low because of plenty of rain. Meanwhile, smoke from the flow has been dissipating quickly.

Another breakout further up the mountain has failed to move far from the main flow pad, but Civil Defense officials are keeping a close eye on the flow front to see where it will go. They were scheduled to meet with business owners in the Pahoa Marketplace today to discuss preparations in the event the lava encroaches on the shopping area.

Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.