No binoculars needed: molten lava pours onto county viewing area highway 130

(Click on any image for a larger view size window)

Molten pahoehoe reached the very last paved portion of highway 130 at 10:00 PM last night at the exact location of where the May 5th lava had stopped.


The timing of this event was not favorable for the hundreds of visitors who patiently waited for hours at the Civil Defense viewing area at roads end in hopes of seeing the lava reach the road; the viewing area was closed just before 10:00 Pm to give people time to Walk the mile back to their vehicles. They did, however, get to witness large areas of vegetation burning all along the road and across the adjacent lands; fires started by the advancing lava flow.





Local residents did gather at roads end in the hours to follow. One resident, a friend of mine whose access road leading to his home is right at the end current end of 130, was there last night watching the lava advance up the highway. He told me he had removed what he could from the home but would stay in it for the night. But early this morning that access road, which is actually the original loop of highway 137, was severed by lava. I do not yet have photos of that, just these images from last night as shown above and below here.

I am not sure how close the public viewing will be this afternoon, but I would expect that visitors will be allowed to walk up the closed end of highway 130 and get fairly close views of the lava crossing the highway and burning the vegetation.

I may add some images from today to this posting later.


Read the July 15th posting, which tells the story of the advancing lava for a complete update of this July lava flow