May 23, 2018 Fissures 5 & 6 Going Off
Lava from the current Leilani Estates flow on the Big Island of Hawaii continues to pour into the ocean just southwest of Pohoiki. Numerous fissures continue to spew lava, some fountaining, others oozing. Of particular note at fissures 5 and 6 at the bottom of Leilani. They have gone from oozing to fountaining and have destroyed several structures at the old state Geothermal test site. The USGS now says there are two places where lava is ponding… between fissure 22 (the biggest spatter cone) and fissure 19 to the west. The other area is between fissures 5 & 6 previously mentioned. Huge cracks have appeared half way up the subdivision, notably on the Malama side of Pomaikai. The fissures seemed to be settling down to an area just south of the PGV Geothermal plant… fissure 20, and building cinder cones. She is still doing that, but over the past two days she has also ventured uprift. Both a’a and pahoehoe flows continue to pour over the sea cliffs in great volume just southwest of Pohoiki. Numerous fingers of lava have stretched toward the sea over the past several days, covering many properties… destroying some homes, and sliding by others. Dozens of homes have been destroyed since the eruption began nearly three weeks ago. Although it began in Leilani and burned several homes there, she soon established her vents below the subdivision with towering fountains, spatter cones feeding gigantic lava flows. So far, no deaths have been reported. Pohoiki Road and Highway 137 have both been covered with lava, but Highway 132 is still open as of this writing. More tomorrow!
Mahalo to Paradise Helicopters and Bruce Omori at Extreme Exposure
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