Lava information fair draws hundreds

Hundreds packed Pahoa High & Intermediate School cafeteria for a lava information fair Saturday, an event more services-driven than the regular information updates from county Civil Defense and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Many are packing up and preparing to leave in case the June 27 lava flow from Kilauea volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent crosses Pahoa Village Road and Highway 130. According to HVO’s latest Volcano Watch column, that could happen between Sept. 24-26 given the lava’s current course. The flow was forecast to cross the village road about 0.7 miles toward the center of Pahoa from Pahoa Marketplace.

As of Saturday, the surface flow was 0.2 miles from the northwest corner of Wao Kele o Puna Forest Reserve and its boundary with Kaohe Homesteads. The flow was traveling northeast and moved about 150 yards in the previous day.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement Friday Wao Kele o Puna Forest is closed until further notice. The reserve is owned by OHA and managed by DLNR.

Tiana Jelf lives in Hawaiian Paradise Park but says she’s preparing her parents, who live in Hawaiian Beaches, for evacuation. She and others mentioned Tropical Storm Iselle, which devastated lower Puna on Aug. 7, as preparation for the current emergency.

“When Iselle hit, we didn’t believe it, because we’d never been hit before. But she hit us pretty bad, so that woke a lot of people up,” she said.

Tessie Nases lives in Hawaiian Beaches and works in Hilo. She said she’s “worried and a little nervous.”

“I don’t want the lava to take my house,” she said. “I’ll probably relocate to my co-worker’s house in Hilo and stay with her a couple of days until we figure it out.”

Nases said her son goes to Keonepoko Elementary School and worries about his status there, as well as providing for her cat and dog in the event lava inundates the highway mauka of Kahakai Boulevard.

The state Department of Education was among the many agencies and service providers answering the public’s questions. Mary Correa, the Ka’u, Keaau, and Pahoa Complex Area superintendent, said Pahoa’s public schools will remain open “as long as we can get our buses through Railroad (Avenue) as an alternate route.”

“We think it’s important to remain to keep a sense of normalcy and identity for the schools. When you can no longer get buses through the contingency roads, then you need to relocate students toward our Keaau Complex,” she said. “… Our concern is going to be for the 1,100 Keonepoko and Pahoa El students, because our elementary schools are packed. So we’re looking at what alternate kind of facilities we can use.”

Bulldozers continue to prepare both Railroad and Government Beach Road for emergency use.

Insurance questions were so plentiful a separate room was set up so people could consult with agents and state Insurance Commissioner Gordon Ito.

“The biggest question for those who have insurance is, if the lava comes through the house and the house burns down or catches fire, if you have coverage,” Ito said. “Generally, the answer is yes. Before the lava touches your home and it catches fire, it would be covered under the fire policy.

“The other question they ask is if there is insurance available. As far as I know, for Lava Zones 1 and 2, the companies that are writing (policies), there’s a moratorium. For Lava Zone 3, there are companies still writing, but they could place a moratorium in effect any time, so I encourage people to talk to their insurance companies.”

Those in the current path of the lava flow are in Lava Zone 2, which includes Pahoa.

Richard Causer of Kehena most residents accept the risk of inundation as a fact of life.

“It’s been that way for more than 20 years. People who live here know that,” he said.

John Hanson and wife, Ruby live in Punalani Gardens below Leilani Estates and own and operate Bee Mo Bettah Honey.

“I’ve been told over the years to watch out for when the lava comes and to be ready and aware,” he said. “… We’re trying to get all of our products off this side of the lava flow and off to Honolulu or somewhere we can sell them.”

Health care was also a hot topic. Cyd Hoffeld of Bay Clinic’s Pahoa Family Health Center said the clinic will operate “as long as our lights are on and our water is running.”

“For patients who are moving already, we’d like them to know we can transfer their medical records from Pahoa to the Keaau Family Health Center, if they’re there, or to the Hilo Family Health Center,” she said. “Our WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program is currently here in Pahoa, but we’d like our WIC patients to know that we’ll be seeing them at the Keaau Girl Scouts Center. That’s where we’ll be moving to.”

Jo Anne Balberde-Kamalii of Suicide Prevention Lifeline said her agency offers help to residents dealing with stress.

“After Iselle, people still haven’t recovered,” she said. “And now with this lava coming in, it just compounds the stress. … If you’re a parent with children, you have a need to keep yourself together so you can be there for your children.”

Police Capt. Samuel Jelsma of Puna Patrol said officers will “provide security once the evacuation order goes into effect.”

“A police presence is gonna be be provided, regardless,” he said.

Police and the Prosecutor’s Office issued a statement reminding the public the state of emergency declared by Mayor Billy Kenoi provides for stiffer sentencing for certain crimes. For example, home burglary becomes a Class A felony, punishable by a mandatory prison sentence of up to 20 years with no possibility of probation.

Police Chief Harry Kubojiri said his department “will be vigilant in maintaining the safety and security of our community in general, and those persons suffering from this situation in particular.”

Prosecutor Mitch Roth said the community “will not tolerate the further victimization of people who are already suffering” and will work with police.

Joy San Buenaventura, a Democrat running for state House District 4 against Republican Gary Thomas and Libertarian Jon LaLanne, said the time has come for the long-discussed Puna Makai Alternate Route.

“If it takes an emergency to do it, obviously we need it,” she said. “And Paradise Park, I know they were against it, but it’s the only way to relieve traffic out of the (subdivision). And hopefully, this session, we’ll get the monies to do it.”

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.