Images

After slowly moving downslope from Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone since June 27, 2014, this active lava flow in Hawaiʻi reached the town of Pāhoa just before Halloween, destroying roads, a cemetery, and private property in this community.

Some of the flow front had the appearance of "slabby" pāhoehoe, which is the type of pāhoehoe in which the surface consists of numerous broken, overturned slabs.

At 11 AM Saturday, the June 27th flow was advancing down the grassy driveway that leads to the Pāhoa cemetery. This view is looking upslope towards AP‘A‘ā Street along the cemetery driveway.

The June 27th lava flow advances across the pasture between the Pāhoa cemetery and AP‘A‘ā Street, surrounding a barbed wire fence.

Kīlauea's June 27th lava flow crosses AP‘A‘ā road west of Pāhoa Village, Hawai‘i. Dark smoke is from burning asphalt. Telephone pole upper right is wrapped in insulation then a barrier of cinder.

The June 27th lava flow crossed AP‘A‘ā Street / Cemetery Road at 3:50 AM, HST, Saturday morning, October 25, 2014. In this photo, which was taken at about 9 AM Saturday, the flow is moving from right to left, with burning asphalt visible along it's NW margin. A utility pole, far right, was surrounded by lava but remained standing at the time of the photo.

A small shed is consumed by lava in the pasture between the Pāhoa cemetery and AP‘A‘ā Street.

This small-scale map shows the June 27th lava flow in Kīlauea's East Rift Zone in relation to lower Puna. The area of the flow on October 22, 2014, at 1:50 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on October 24 at 12:10 PM is shown in red.

This map uses a satellite image acquired in March 2014 (provided by Digital Globe) as a base to show the area around the front of the June 27th lava flow. The area of the flow on October 22, 2014, at 1:50 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on October 24 at 12:10 PM is shown in red.

Another view of the flow front and Cemetery Rd./AP‘A‘ā St., looking east. The flow front is entering an open pasture.

HVO geologists can be seen in the pasture mapping the flow front position.

A wider view of the flow front, and its position relative to Pāhoa. This morning the flow front was 1.2 km (0.7 miles) from Pāhoa Village Road, as measured along a straight line. Pāhoa Village Road is at the bottom of the photograph.

Another view of the two lobes that make up the flow front. Vehicles for scale.

Just upslope of the flow front, the flow can be seen here parallel to the dirt road. The flow in this section was only about 30 m (100 feet) wide.

Preview image for video: shows a close-up view of the flow front, and its proximity to Cemetery Rd./AP‘A‘ā St. The transfer station is also shown.

Preview image for video: shows a wider view of the flow front, and pans to the right to show the flow's proximity to Pāhoa.

This large-scale map shows the distal part of the June 27th flow in relation to nearby Puna communities. The area of the flow on October 22, 2014, at 1:50 PM is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as mapped on October 24 at 12:10 PM is shown in red.

A comparison of a normal photograph with a thermal image of the flow front. The white box shows the approximate area of the thermal image. The thermal image shows that high temperatures are concentrated around the leading tip of the flow, which is consistent with lava focused at the front to sustain a higher advance rate.

A closer view of the flow front, which has split into two separate lobes. As of 2 PM, the flow was only 135 m (approximately 150 yards) from Cemetery Rd./AP‘A‘ā St., which spans this photo. HELCO crews can be seen working to protect utility poles along the road.

Another view of the leading tip of the flow, as it moves into the open pasture.

The June 27th flow remains active, and has advanced at an increased rate over the past two days. This afternoon (2 pm), the flow front was pushing ahead as a narrow lobe, and was just 135 m (150 yards) from Cemetery Rd./AP‘A‘ā St. The vent for the June 27th flow is on Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (top of photograph), which is nearly 19 km (12 miles) away.