Concern for Leilani Estates as lava moves eastward underground

[WestCoastGal]

Honolulu Star-Advertiser: 577 homes destroyed according to CD at this morning's briefing. Verified by matching real property tax records with aerial surveys which are ongoing.

As of noon 894 people have registered with FEMA's Disaster Relief Center. 

Regularly scheduled community meeting at Pahoa High School cafeteria at 5pm HST today (8pm PDT, 11pm EDT) will include representatives from Small Busienss Admin and FEMA.

Pele's hair may reach Pahoa and up to Hawaiian Acres with change of winds starting tonight through Thursday.

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USGS updates:

Alert as of Tues 6/19 @ 9:44am HST (12:44pm PDT): https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/status.html

Photos have been uploaded. Animated GIF of Halema'uma'u crater, Fissure 8 increased in height to 200 feet. Spatter built up cone to the east an into the channel. They posted photos taken 6/18 of Halema'uma'u crater. The opening is really growing wide.

Map updated as of 1pm HST (3pm PDT) for today. Breakouts on both sides of channel near the cinder pit and in southern end of Vacationland area where there is active ocean entry at one point.

Map: US Geological Survery

[WestCoastGal]

Views from our 2 live feed cams now taken within minutes of each other.

 

[Moose]

You are not going to believe this, Rusty the Lava Rooster has his very own video now. This thing really cracks me up.

Hope you get a laugh out of it too.

 

 

Published on Jun 19, 2018

The NEW Children's Classic Hawaiian Folk Song About Rusty (Fissure) The Lava Rooster. Rusty the Lava Rooster. The Civil Beat Chicken. By Sound Prophet, Owen Harris, and the Punatic All-Stars. Recorded in Puna-vision. 2018

[WestCoastGal]

So I was watching Civil Beat chat and live feed. So did the whole rim of Halema'uma'u drop a little while ago with a 5.3 or so earthquake? Looks like one big hole now with clean edges. Didn't see an update that I noticed.

Live feed now:

 

[Kim]

Excellent images from NASA:

https://youtu.be/z2GsuOFS06E

[WestCoastGal]

5 hours ago, WestCoastGal said:

Pahoa Community meeting will air live on Na Leo TV ch 55 tonight at 5pm HST (8pm PDT, 11pm EDT). 

Meeting is about to start if you are interested.

[WestCoastGal]

Heard about this while watching the live feed and chat from Keaau. From fb Hawaii Tracker group:

[Moose]

Update report from Charles (YT Doing Hawaii)

 

Published on Jun 20, 2018

The June 19th, 2018 (6/19/2018) Leilani Estates Kilauea Rift Zone Eruption Update Report.

[Moose]

Scott's morning pre-dawn talk. You can hear Fissure 8 from his house, Scott says he can feel the ground vibrating.

 

[WestCoastGal]

Gabe (YT H.I.S Survival) just posted this video from yesterday when they went in to help evacuate someone and there was a small lava outbreak coming down. Does go to illustrate the danger of being down there with not so easy access out. The lava splattering and flowing down the sides of the cone, pretty impressive especially given the height of the cone. Nice footage Gabe was able to get. 

BTW Gabe's video of the evac is of the same house that Ryan Finlay's video yesterday was taken from. I recognized Ryan helping to remove the sign near the front door. Nice appliances they were able to retrieve and boy you'd hate to have to leave belongings like this behind only to be destroyed by lava possibly.

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BTW it looks like Civil Beat's live feed has had problems at night. Think it was a setting for nighttime that didn't get made but checked this morning and not seeing a live feed started so probably working it out.

[The Silent Seed]

Amazing stuff - mother nature rules! 

In your words; I'm curious why you choose to live with this kind of natural disaster? Sure, it may sometimes be idyllic, but knowing that it may very well all vanish overnight… I'm curious what the mindset is of those of you who experience it firsthand. 

My heart goes out to those of you who are suffering in some fashion. 

[WestCoastGal]

Having a busy morning and still backlogged on catching up here but saw that Dane DuPont (YT Hawaii Tracker group) posted this update to the post he did last night about the brush fires (and posted here). 

I thought watching the live feed from Civil Beat last night that the Kapoho entry was putting up a lot of steam so interesting to hear that Shane (on the ocean doing boat tours) commented on it.

Here's a few screen grabs I did from early evenings video streaming. What stuck with me was the extent of the "cloud" canopy that hung over the eruption area the whole time.

 

[WestCoastGal]

Quick check in with Mileka's fb page and she had this report on the Community Meeting last night, which I watched and did notice the decrease in attendees.

She also posted video shared by Andrew Richard Hara:

 

[WestCoastGal]

Anthony Quintano was at F8 this morning capturing this video (actually I thought it would have been Joseph Anthony? who's their photographer and done similar videos, hmm, but it's what's written in the YT description). Pretty impressive and nice closeup. Hopefully they'll fix the live feed this morning. Still not showing any life streaming going on.

 

[WestCoastGal]

Hawaii Tribune-Herald's article on the possibility of an eruption viewing area: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2018/06/20/hawaii-news/public-viewing-area-for-eruption-discussed-but-not-guaranteed/  Interesting given what was reported on fb Hawaii Tracker group. The article also discusses other conditions at Kilauea.

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With the surcharge failing to pass, the County now needs to find ways to make up the $5M budget shortfall. http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2018/06/20/hawaii-news/get-surcharge-fails-county-now-faces-daunting-task-of-finding-funds-to-cover-5m-budget-shortfall/

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The proposal for further regulations on Vacation Rentals has been postponed. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38467876/big-island-postpones-action-on-vacation-rental-regulations

[WestCoastGal]

Well apparently that video was taken by Anthony Q. He posted on fb Hawaii Tracker group an hour ago saying he was in an overflight with Bruce Omori and Mick Kalber. Recorded this morning. 

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Wow look at this ocean lava boat tour onboard with Shane Turpin. This was live 5 hours ago. It does look a bit pixelated so maybe a higher quality will get uploaded later. 

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Photos from Alohilani Orchids (fb Elizabeth Kekedi):

 

[WestCoastGal]

View from PGV cam as of 10:25am HST (1:25pm PDT):

[The Silent Seed]

Another ignorant NorthEasterner's question here… Why is it all of a sudden such a big deal? I just read that this critter has been erupting since 1983. 

 

[Mike in LB]

3 hours ago, santoury said:

Amazing stuff - mother nature rules! 

In your words; I'm curious why you choose to live with this kind of natural disaster? Sure, it may sometimes be idyllic, but knowing that it may very well all vanish overnight… I'm curious what the mindset is of those of you who experience it firsthand. 

My heart goes out to those of you who are suffering in some fashion. 

I'll take a stab at this, even though my thought processes after 47 days of being a refugee are less than ideal.

1.  I visited the Puna District and Leilani Estates in 2010 with merely the desire to hang out and see things. It was my first trip to Hawaii.  I had no long-term intentions or goals, as I was relatively content and comfortable in Southern California. 

2.  I enjoyed the first few days, and visited various gardens including Bo Goran's former garden on Malama St.  Things were fun, but that was about it.  Then, after a full 10 days in Puna, something changed.  I knew with 100% certainty that I would be moving here permanently.  There was absolutely no doubt in my mind.  It was a combination of factors - affordable land (in acres not sq ft!!!), friendly people, laid-back lifestyle, great climate (no heating or AC required), abundant water (important for palm gardens), etc.  The fit was just about perfect.

3.  Even though Leilani Estates is in Lava Zone 1, it has been in existence for almost 50 years with no lava flows.  I believe (not sure) that the current lava flow/coverage today exceeds anything that has happened since 1800.  Thus, it didn't seem to me to be an unreasonable risk to buy 4 acres + house here, with the expectation that I'd only need about 20 years here (likely life span) without incident. 

4.  Leilani Estates has mail delivery, high-speed internet, low crime, somewhat better shaped lots than other subdivisions (where lots might be roughly 100 ft wide by 1000 ft deep), and less traffic than subdivisions closer to Hilo.  It's a nice sweet spot for many things other than the Lava Zone consideration.

5.  I've enjoyed living in Leilani Estates for almost 6 years now.  I don't regret a thing, even though I'll probably lose my place to the lava.

Mike Arends

Leilani Estates

[The Silent Seed]

Thank you, Mike. it makes complete sense - I know what you mean by something inside changing. Interesting input. 

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this now, though. 

 

[Moose]

Morning Civil Defense Message

 

[Moose]

Here is the latest video upload from USGS

 

Published on Jun 20, 2018

Geology field crews on the ground near the Kīlauea's fissure 8 midday on June 19, 2018 observed a still-vigorous channelized lava flow being fed by lava fountains at the vent. Standing waves are visible within the channel. Cascades/rapids are visible near the base of the cone, which is an estimated 50 m (164 ft) high. The maximum flow velocity in the channel is 7.7 m/s (17 mph). During the morning overflight, several small overflows could be seen along the channel margins. The flow of lava is more rapid in the center of the channel and decreases in speed toward the margins where friction with the channel walls increases. The lava flow forks as it nears the ocean, creating two ocean entry points.

[WestCoastGal]

Just came on to say I checked YT and saw that Civil Beat had been up live for 30 some minutes. As I was watching it Live (saw the red light) it went off line. Back up again. Fewer than 100 people watching so not sure what the issue has been, connection, wiring, ? Here's the link.

 Looks like a nice day in Paradise again but still lots of steam. Count over 100 now watching. If you appreciate the feed, give it a thumbs up when you are on. Want them to know it's worth maintaining down there.

[WestCoastGal]

2 hours ago, santoury said:

Another ignorant NorthEasterner's question here… Why is it all of a sudden such a big deal? I just read that this critter has been erupting since 1983. 

 

@santoury, Pu'uO'O was the vent that has been erupting since 1983. It's located on the south flank not far from the Kilauea Crater and while flows over the years have taken out Kalapana and other small communities and nearly reached Pahoa in 2014, this eruption is different in a number of ways. It opened up in a highly populated community among homes, with many fissures in line (24 to date). It has wiped out I think more homes/businesses/land than any other eruption undoubtedly making it the most expensive in terms of property loss and it's not over. The magma from it came not only from what was apparently left over from the Pu'uO'o eruption in 1955 according to USGS, but Pu'uO'o sent all of it's magma down the rift, collapsing it's crater rim and the 6.9 earthquake (strongest in a long time) cut off it's access to fresh magma, and that was followed by the entire lava lake from Halema'uma'u draining into the rift too. I don't believe that has happened before either taking out both lakes. USGS scientists don't think Pu'uO'o will become active again. USGS estimates that there has been more magma released from Kilauea in cubic meter estimates than any other flow in our lifetime and it's still erupting vigorously with no real sign of when it could end. I don't recall hearing the exact acres of new land created. USGS has said that this eruption can no longer be modeled after the 1955 or 1960 ones so it's been surprising to them on many fronts.

[WestCoastGal]

A USGS update:

From our two live feed cams taken around the same time.

 

The latest Alert published was at 6/20 @ 9:02am HST (12:02pm PDT): https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/kilauea/status.html

The only photo so far posted for today is this one. Taken in Leilani near the channelized flow at F8 showing a USGS geologist making morning observations.

Photo: US Geological Survery

The Map has been updated as of 6/20 at 11am HST (1pm PDT). Reflects the small breakout around Pohoiki Road that caused a brush fire, and more lava movement at the southern end of Vacationland with active ocean entry.

US Geological Survey:

Mileka reported last night that Hawaiian Volcano Observatory put the F8 fountains at 165-246 feet high.

[The Silent Seed]

Thank you WestcoastGal for such an interpretative, educational piece of information. I learned a lot. Fascinating. Thanks again. 

Are the 9 new acres added where it's flowing into the ocean and accumulating? 

[WestCoastGal]

With Pele's hair and other volcanic emmisions being carried by the changing winds tonight over areas that haven't seen much of this, there will be Community Ash and Vog meetings on how to best protect yourself from the effects of it. Mileka gave this report on her fb page. Hawaiʻi Department of Health will be holding Volcanic Ash and Vog Community Meeting tonight and on Thursday on the west side of Hawai’i Island. Tonight’s is at Konawaena Elementary School in Kealakekua beginning at 5 PM. Thursday’s will be at Waikaloa Elementary & Middle School Cafeteria beginning at 6 PM.

 

[WestCoastGal]

Ryan Finlay (fb Hawaii Tracker group) posted this video (use HD setting) of F8 from the ground yesterday (6/19).

 

[WestCoastGal]

I had heard from a USGS geologist speaking the other day that they were clearing out the Jaggar Museum and moving everything to Hilo. Believe he also said they were taking out equipment from the Observatory area. Just saw this video in a post on Hawaii Tracker group.

 

[Moose]

13 minutes ago, santoury said:

Thank you WestcoastGal for such an interpretative, educational piece of information. I learned a lot. Fascinating. Thanks again. 

Are the 9 new acres added where it's flowing into the ocean and accumulating? 

Start at the beginning, there are 43 pages, over 1600 posts. You will probably be able to answer 99.9% of all your questions by doing so.

[WestCoastGal]

Here's HVNP Ranger Olivia giving an update (from yesterday) on the Volcano Arts Center which was moved from inside the HVNP to the village of Volcano which is still accessible to visitors.

 

[WestCoastGal]

A lot of discussion has been had in Scott's videos and on social media online about the helicopters that have been flying over the eruption area. This was posted by a member of Hawaii Tracker group to inform people of the actual situation. I do feel for those remaining in LE and nearby communities like Nanawale Estates (saw a very frustrated post from a resident there). 

[WestCoastGal]

The winds are shifting as evidenced by this screen capture. 

@santoury, just saw your question about the acreage. After typing I realized the 9 figure was related to square miles of lava covered and went back and changed it but I guess not before you read my post. The latest map shows a figure of about ~380 acres of new delta area.

[Dave-Vero]

The clouds forming from the ocean entry are somewhat similar to fire clouds in Florida.  You have a fire on a humid day (prescribed or not, ideally mowing a  saw palmetto lawn in a pine flatwoods or dry prairie).  The rising smoke generates a cloud and sometimes that cloud rains on the fire.  

Mileka Lincoln's report was a model of good writing and useful information.  Moving the art center to the village of Volcano seems 

[WestCoastGal]

@Dave-Vero I assume you got called away and maybe meant to say moving the art center to the village of Volcano seems like a good idea? If so, I thought so too. Would bring hopefully tourists there who might say for a meal at least, hopefully more.

[WestCoastGal]

The discussion of an observation area of Fissure 8 is certainly gaining steam. Mileka in her fb page posted this. Pretty sure I posted G Brad Lewis' video elsewhere in this thread but if not, click on the Mileka fb page link to view it.

[WestCoastGal]

The HVNP is offering free events such as cultural programs, guided hikes and other events ranging in locations from Kau to Hilo. For more info: http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38473048/hawaii-volcanoes-national-park-to-host-free-events-amid-eruptions-ash-falls

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BI churches raise enough money during one Sunday to buy materials for 10 120-sq ft micro homes being spearheaded by Connect Point Church. These will go on a new one-acre lot off Kaloli Drive in Hawaiian Paradise Park. They are still hoping to raise $25K for finishing materials. http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38472691/big-island-church-breaks-ground-on-village-of-micro-homes-for-lava-evacuees

[WestCoastGal]

Well it looks like the Civil Beat cam gets shut down during the night. Might be too voggy or still having problems with any low-light adjustments or maybe just too far to see anything much at night to warrant running it then. Has anyone heard anything about this? We were doing something else tonight and couldn't monitor the chat.

Anyway this screen grab (click to enlarge a bit) is from the last video streaming they did as it got towards dusk. If you look at F8 on the right you can definitely see the fountaining rising in the air above the cone. From reports it sounds like the fountaining have gotten more vigorous during the last few nights and reached higher limits than during the day. Guessing that's tephra falling down to the right of the cone.

and this was the PGV cam as of 7:50pm HST (10:50pm PDT)

[WestCoastGal]

You guys most likely have noticed large chunks of lava in the lava channel causing all kinds of interesting flows around and over them. Some apparently make it out to the ocean and they float due to being filled with gas bubbles although they will sink once all the air has escaped. Shane shared this video of one that they encounted on one of the lava boat tours. Seen people refer to these as lavabergs, not hard to see why.

 

[WestCoastGal]

Some additional Ocean Lava eye candy on the fb Lava News page. This from Demian Barrios (Db Photo at Primary Focus):

And another video from Shane Turpin, taken tonight 6/20.