It's Getting Real All Over Again

I've been meaning to post, but what would I say? One week it looks like the flow is abating, the next it's full steam ahead. Do we go ahead and trim the out-of-control Chinese orchid tree and cut back the fishtail palms out front... or concentrate on further improvements to the Banana Shack? The flow front moves to the north... no wait, it's curving back around. Maybe we have time to finish the perimeter fence after all? The lava meanders about in a fairly flat area only to find a crack and burst forward again. Every time I postpone writing here, I'm glad I didn't give an update that would be outdated a few short days later.

But the time has come. Although the flow stalled last month, just on the brink of town, it hasn't stopped. At all.

The yellow dot shows the flow front as of this morning. We are at the top right of the image.

Now the newer half of Pahoa town, the Marketplace with all the more practical shops, is the target. The active lava front is within one mile of the grocery store, medical clinic, auto repair shop, hardware store, gas station, propane & battery shop, among others - all are located in this Marketplace area. Plus, the highway junction is right out front.

Once the highway is cut off we will have to take a longer, slower route to the outside world and anywhere north of us (Hilo, Lori, beaches, friends, all other parts of the island, groceries, building supplies, etc) via the newly reopened and graveled Railroad Avenue, then back up to the highway through another subdivision.

Dashed blue lines on this one depict alternate routes: Railroad (extends on both sides of Hawaiian Beaches) & Beach Road.

Quite soon after that, if the flow keeps going, it will cut across Kahakai Boulevard, our access to the highway. At that point, we will have to take Railroad in the other direction, up through yet another subdivision in order to reach Pahoa and our land.

Obviously, at some point before all this happens, we need to have most of our stuff moved away to the safety of the Banana Shack. But exactly when? No one knows. This flow is so unpredictable, as is usual for a pahoehoe flow on this side of the island where the terrain is so varied, full of earth cracks, old lava tubes, and a jumble of previous long ago flows.

Some have asked why we don't just move already... move on... get out of harm's way? There are several reasons: insurance requires our home be occupied to a certain extent; we can't sell out (who would buy in front of a lava flow?); it's a huge job to move the farm animals, as well as the household, and all - we don't want to do it before we really have to (the flow could stall again, or could just take its sweet time to get this far down, or even could take another route); there's the worry of vandalism and theft; and besides, it's far more comfortable here. We will stay as long as we can safely do so.

Meanwhile, it's the Christmas/Yule season with all it's attendant expectation and goodwill. Having a small child to share the excitement and wonder makes it all the more special. I've been enjoying this season to the fullest! I went ahead and decorated, and put up a tree full of cherished ornaments, each one with a story behind it. It will still be a while before the lava comes knocking on our door. The little bits of normalcy and cheer are a welcome reprieve from the anxiety of impending lava.

 

No time to post... Lava on the way

The lava is just about to hit the first houses in Pahoa town. We are prepping the banana shack, packing our home, and saying goodbyes to friends as we all scatter on the winds of big changes happening to our lovely district.



You'll likely have seen images on mainstream news now that it's closer to being the sensation of the week. But I thought I'd check in, however briefly, to let you know we're still here, but not for long.

This slow-motion disaster is taking its toll on everyone's nerves, but it is also affording us time to come to grips with the new reality: Pahoa will never be the same, if it will even exist. Puna District will be cleft in two: those behind the flow and those on the Hilo side. Saddest of all, for me, is that our kids and we will be on opposite sides. There are graveled connecting roads in place and being constructed - and we are most grateful for that! It means not being totally isolated behind the flow - but the drive times to just about everywhere will be much longer. Oh well, we're kind of used to that, coming from the mountainous Inland Northwest.

So many paths for our thoughts to wander down in the midst of the turmoil the lava flow is causing. We have shut down the vacation rental, obviously. We are down to just one pig, Pinkie Pie, who is (hopefully) bred (this time). She will come with us to the new land, once we build a place for her, after we finish up a place for us. One more load of feed is due to arrive today or tomorrow, and will no doubt be sold off quickly. We are no longer offering farm tours. The store where I sell excess eggs is closing, so I'm not sure what to do with all my chickens. Our food crops and trees are just coming into their full production here; it's a harsh reality that they will likely be gone ere long and we will have to completely start over again from the ground up.

I'll be back once the pace isn't quite so exceedingly stressful here. In the meantime, all good thoughts and prayers are most welcome, not just for us but for our entire community.

A Reprieve (of sorts)

(photo from USGS Kilauea Status Update page)

I spoke with Dr Jim Kauahikaua, head volcanologist at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory, last night after a Civil Defense community meeting for our neighborhood. I asked him to give me a ballpark time frame for the lava to reach our home, which I pointed out on a detailed map. Just last week it was predicted to be only days from reaching the highway, but the flow doesn't seem to be progressing forward that fast lately. He seemed pretty confident that the lava is still coming, just that it'll probably take longer than previously expected.

He said we have "months" before the lava hits our place.
I'll take it!

Even though the same amount of lava is pumping out of Pu'u O'o, it's getting dispersed differently than before. A lot of the revised prediction time frame has to do with the terrain between the current flow field and here. For on thing, it's flatter, thereby allowing the flow to spread out over a larger area. And there are no more deep earth cracks to channel the flow downslope quickly.

We were told that it's a pretty sure thing that this flow will hit the highway at some point. Pahoa itself is still assumed to be within weeks of having lava, unless the flow bypasses town, which could happen. But down here at our home--which is what I was particularly inquiring about--it is likely to be months out. Repeatedly we were warned that the highway will have lava... it's just a matter of when.

I am so relieved to hear that we suddenly have more time than we'd anticipated for preparations to be made. It feels like a heavy load has been lifted from my shoulders. We are still in the most likely path. However, it is a huge relief that not every single waking moment needs to be on high-alert for a while. That in itself is a blessing.

With this temporary reprieve, we have more time to work on the shelter on the Land and get the place habitable. And we don't have to move stuff right away. We might even have a chance to get back to that perimeter fence project up there.
I feel like I can exhale now.



PS to my local readers: There's another meeting tonight. If you want a seat, go early. These meetings tend to be standing room only well before the start time. That's a good thing as more people are becoming informed.

Time For Action

I don't really have time to be writing right now, but I hear there's not much in the mainland news about the lava flow heading to Pahoa, and us... It's huge! It's the real deal.
And we are in the path.

Mike took this where our road meets the highway, about 4 miles from home. The lava steam and smoke created the big cloud in the center, more smoke rising in the foreground beneath it.

The anxiety is overwhelming at times. This long drawn-out drama, while affording everyone time to get things done and arranged and moved, is also very taxing on everyone's nerves. They (officials, not just gossip) say Pahoa town is likely to disappear the way Kalapana did, and Kapoho before it. If not in the next couple weeks, then months... or agonizing years (like Kalapana).

Thank goodness there is work happening now, full speed ahead, opening up the old Railroad right of way and Beach Road. Huge trucks, graders, and enormous Cats roar by at all hours... and that's okay. These roads will be the lifeline to Hilo and all that implies.

Several of our friends who also live in this neighborhood in the direct path of the flow are moving their furnishings and stuff into storage; then it’s wait and see if we have to leave our homes. Others are leaving the area, or even the islands, entirely. Our ohana is breaking apart. Those who are staying in Puna District now talk in terms of "which side will you be on", meaning the division that the lava flow will make once it cuts off the highway... then Railroad... then Beach Road, between 'our side' and the Hilo side. (The l-o-n-g way 'round through Chain of Craters and into the back side of Volcanoes National Park will only be opened up after Beach Rd is over-run.)

(click to enlarge photo)

I hate that Lori and I will be on opposite sides of this instead of only 17 minutes away from each other. I cannot quite believe that we are likely going to lose our home, our piggery barn, and our farm. We've already canceled reservations for our vacation rental and issued refunds to incoming guests. We've already stopped selling animal feeds because we will be unable to get more before the predicted highway overrun time frame. We are down to one pig now and deciding about the laying flock. Less to move, more time for us to be doing what needs to be done right now.

We are counting ourselves fairly lucky in that we do have somewhere to go if it comes to it. Our new land has an old building on it that used to be a banana packing shed. I admit it won't be quite so bad once the place is gutted, deep-cleaned, painted, and fixed up for living in and storage of our furnishings, etc. Two rooms for us, two for storage, and a feed room of sorts with a washer. These preparations are in full swing. Soon we can start moving stuff, lighten our last-minute load here. It would have been high adventure at 20-something--and it was, doing stuff like this!--but at 50-something, not so much.

Yesterday, we finally got a chance to get to Hilo for supplies. It's another world, a more 'normal' world. Took a while to adjust. Best find of the day: empty boxes at Home Depot. They were stocking shelves and I was helping them clear the aisles.

I was a bit disappointed that we didn't see any glow from the lava as we drove home. I mean, if it's going to put us in such danger, we should at least get to see the beauty of it, too, right?

Lava Heading Our Way!

I fully intended to give a more detailed account of our experience with Hurricane Iselle, downgraded to Tropical Storm status as she moved ashore and wreaked her havoc on our part of the island...

BUT our focus has shifted from that now faraway storm to another natural disaster happening in our Puna district of Hawaii Island (aka the Big Island) - LAVA!

Sure, lava flows almost continuously somewhere on the island, but it's not everyday you get lava aiming right for your town, let alone your home. This is what's happening now. It's flowing just above Pahoa, and if it continues on its current path, will likely flow right close by to our house. Yikes!

This one is called the June 27th Flow because that's when it started. It's been making its way downhill ever since. Folks closer to the flow front are moving themselves and their livestock before the official evacuation order goes out. That's a good idea as it's been quite voggy and smoky as sulphur dioxide is emitted and trees burn up in the flow. The smoke plume is just above Pahoa, lurking there and looking ominous.

If the lava hits the highway--and it will if it keeps flowing--this end of lower Puna will be completely cut off from the rest of the island. There is only one road in or out from here, and no port, only one measly little boat ramp at Pohoiki. Needless to say, this is a BIG DEAL!

There is talk of opening some of the older roads that have been allowed to fall into disrepair - something that should have been done ages ago. Another option is reopening Chain of Craters Road that once connected Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the little town of Kalapana... before lava overtook the entire area and buried that town 20 feet deep. That was back in 1986-1990, not so long ago. It would sure be a long drive to Hilo that way, but better than nothing.

Maps are being issued every few days and I bet the USGS status update site has never gotten so many hits. There are community Civil Defense meetings held in Pahoa two or three times a week, with larger and larger crowds attending to find out just what is going on and what, if anything, we can do about it. Be prepared comes to mind. Plan for the big What If.

Earth crack at Volcanoes Nat Park.

Fortunately, lava moves fairly slowly on this side of the island due to terrain and topography. It's a long gentle slope to the sea, chopped up with giant earth cracks and jumbled with hard lava from previous flows. Pu'u O'o, the source of all this lava, tends to ooze rather than explode all at once like Mount St Helens did. This gives us plenty of time to see exactly where Madame Pele will wander this time and just who she'll choose to visit. This is her island after all.

It's all part of living on the side of a volcano, and after all, it's how these Hawaii Islands were formed. We knew that coming in... in theory. Now for the real life application, the hands-on experience. Maybe... or maybe not. We're in wait and see mode.