HAWAII LAVA FORCES RESIDENTS TO GET READY TO FLEE
(AP) — Dozens of Hawaii residents have been told they might have to evacuate because molten lava from a volcano is headed toward their homes.The lava from Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanos, was about 100 yards from a home Monday morning, Hawaii County Civil Defense officials said.After months of fitful advancement, the lava crossed Apaa Street on Sunday in Pahoa Village, considered a main town of the Big Island's isolated and rural Puna district. It was getting dangerously close to Pahoa Village Road, which goes straight through downtown.Here's a look at the volcano, which has been continuously erupting since 1983:THE LATESTThe flow advanced about 275 yards since Sunday morning, moving northeast at about 10 to 15 yards per hour.The lava's advancement slowed early Monday, while the flow continued to spread out, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The fastest advancing lobe was about 110 yards wide and about 620 yards from Pahoa Village Road at about 7:30 a.m.Officials closed Pahoa Village Road between Apaa Street and Post Office Road to everyone except residents.Those living downslope of the flow are under an evacuation advisory. Most residents have found places to go or have already left on their own.SLOW CREEPScientists began warning the public about the lava on Aug. 22. The warning came as residents were cleaning up from a tropical storm that made landfall over the Puna district, toppling trees and knocking out electricity.Since then, the lava has advanced and slowed as residents waited, watched and worried.Kilauea volcano has been erupting continuously since 1983. Most lava from this eruption has flowed south, while the lava has flowed to the northeast over the past two years.This is not an eruption at the caldera, the things that make for stunning pictures as deeply red lava spews from the mountaintop.WHO IS AT RISK?Initially, the lava seemed headed for the Kaohe Homesteads, a widespread, sparsely populated subdivision in the Puna district.It reached vacant lots in the subdivision before it stalled and then headed toward Pahoa.Pahoa has small-town, quaint and historic charm, but it's \the only town in a commercial sense in lower Puna