This Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014, photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows an aerial view of the lava flow near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii.PAHOA, Hawaii – Rain fell Wednesday on a red-hot river of lava as it threatened to consume its first home on its slow advance into a rural Hawaii town.
A breakout of the lava flow was about 100 feet from a Pahoa residence – about the length of a basketball court, said Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira. The couple that lives in the home has left.
Scientists from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory who are walking alongside the lava reported its leading edge was 240 yards from Pahoa Village Road, which goes through a commercial hub of the Big Island’s sprawling and isolated Puna district.
“This is just a little quiet village in a very rural community. We farm, we fish, we hunt,” said Jamila Dandini. “We’re going to be an island on an island.”
The leading edge remained in a large agricultural parcel that included another house, which was about 100 yards from the lava, Oliveira said.