Poor volcano views hurting tourism industry
HONOLULU — Stunning images of Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano have captivated people around the world. But ironically it’s nearly impossible for residents and visitors on the ground to see the lava — a fact that's squeezing the tourism-dependent local economy.
Big Island businesses are calling for a lava viewing site, but authorities say they’re finding it difficult to set one up while keeping people safe.
The risks posed by the volcano came into sharp focus when lava flowing into the ocean triggered an explosion that sent a hot rock the size of a basketball crashing through a tour boat's roof. One woman broke her leg, while nearly two dozen others suffered minor burns and scrapes.
Diane Ley, Hawaii County’s director of research and development, said she has been working on setting up a lava viewing site for nearly two months, consulting with federal scientists and the county’s civil defence administrator. The injuries from the tour boat only validate the county's caution, she said.
“That’s a challenge — to find us a site that is safe from volcanic hazards, emissions and can afford the ability for large numbers to be able to come in and view," she said.
Still, pressures are mounting from merchants, tour guides and others on the island, where tourism has dropped since Kilauea began erupting in a residential neighbourhood and burning down homes in May.
Downtown Pahoa, which is just a few miles from where the volcano is pumping a river of molten rock into the ocean, has been hit particularly hard. The small, rural town serves as a gateway to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, which is normally the state’s most popular tourist attraction, but has closed indefinitely.
As recently as April, travellers could watch molten rock in the park’s lava lake and hike to remote spots to see flowing lava.
State Sen. Russell Ruderman said the county needs to urgently set up a lava viewing site to bring visitors back to Pahoa.
“Our town is dying very, very fast and very, very dramatically,” said Ruderman, who owns a natural foods store in Pahoa. “It’s needless because if we could get the word out that our town is open for business, we could still save it."”
Currently, only helicopter and boat-tour passengers — paying about $250 each — are able to see the lava in person.
The area where lava is bursting from the ground is under a mandatory evacuation order. Residents nearby may go to their homes, but the county restricts access for everyone else except scientists, authorities like the National Guard and a handful of escorted media.
Officials have cracked down on violators, issuing citations to more than 80 people for loitering in a restricted disaster area.
Kilauea, which has been erupting continuously for 35 years, has long attracted travellers. About 5,000 people a day descended on an official county lava viewing spot in May 1990 as molten rock slowly consumed the town of Kalapana, the Honolulu Advertiser reported. That’s even though the spot offered views of cooled, not flowing, lava.
Ley noted Kilauea is behaving differently than in the past, when lava flowed from a different spot and through uninhabited land. It also is producing more lava — erupting as much as 100 cubic metres per second now compared with about four cubic metres two years ago.
She doesn’t know when the county will be ready, but envisions a viewing site where tour buses could go and not private cars. The county may select several sites and open them as conditions allow, she said.
John Tarson, owner of Epic Lava Tours, said current restrictions are crushing him.
“They’ve effectively cut my business’ legs off. And there’s nothing that can be done to save it unless they reopen the tourism industry, unless they stop criminalizing people for wanting to see lava,” Tarson said.
He argues guides like himself have years of experience and can continue to take tourists to see lava safely. Instead, his customers are cancelling reservations into the new year because they don’t believe they'll be allowed to see molten rock.
Restaurants and shops in Pahoa have lost 50 per cent to 90 per cent of their business, said Matthew Purvis, president of the Mainstreet Pahoa Association.