It's not going to be a very merry Christmas in Pahoa, what with lava flow still steadily making its way through the Hawaiian town. Families have already been displaced by the lava flow and now it's on track to hit Pahoa Marketplace in the coming week. That means come Christmas time, residents of Pahoa may have lost their only supermarket, alongside a hardware store and one of three of the town's gas stations.
As of Thursday, the lava flow was 1,200 to 1,300 yards away from Pahoa Marketplace, advancing 165 yards from Wednesday. Whether or not the lava flow slows down, it will still hit the shopping center--it's just a matter of when. With molten rock now crossing flatter ground, the flow has partly slowed down, increasing hopes of a pause or a stall.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige was in Pahoa Thursday, meeting with residents and seeing for the first time the magnitude of the lava flow slowly but steadily consuming the town in an aerial tour. He also received updates from Hawaii County civil defense administrator Darryl Oliveira during the visit.
"I am amazed at the attitude of the citizens of Pahoa. They are definitely upbeat; the community has really drawn together to work through this disaster," said Ige as he was talking to reporters.
The governor added that he will push for maximum assistance from the government, looking into services the state could provide now that it's in the middle of crafting a budget to be presented to lawmakers in the following week.
At the lava flow's current pace, it is projected to hit the shopping center by Thursday but that may change said Oliveira. Three days before the lava gets to Pahoa Marketplace though, the county is planning on cutting off its electricity. In preparation for the inevitable, a gas station has also emptied its gasoline tanks and finished removing vapors and sludge by Friday. If the lava makes its way across Highway 130, it will make it hard for residents to get to other areas in the island.
"Everybody's adjustment to that is appreciated, and we definitely are empathetic to what this means," said Oliveira.
Volcanic eruptions are nothing new to Hawaii, most especially when its very islands were formed as a result. As the most active of the volcanoes in Hawai'i island, Kilauea has been erupting for 30 years, with its most recent lava flow already stretching for over 13 miles.
