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.