Lava stalls short of Big Island town’s main road

HONOLULU » Lava from Kilauea volcano has stalled just under 500 feet from the main road in Pahoa on the Big Island, officials said Saturday.

Some lava has been breaking out along the sides of the flow, but it’s moving slowly, said Darryl Oliveira, director of Hawaii County civil defense.

“At this point, there’s very little activity taking place that’s posing any increased threat to the residents or the community,” Oliveira said.

Lava has been streaming down the volcano’s flank toward the northeast since June. Last weekend, it crossed a country road on the edge of Pahoa, a small town of about 1,000 residents. It smothered part of a cemetery, toppled trees and burned a shed, some tires and grass.

Authorities have alerted about 50 households they should be prepared to evacuate. The lava has since advanced more slowly, but county officials said it’s still active. Burning from the lava was generating light to moderate amounts of smoke Saturday. Trade winds have been pushing the smoke toward the south and southwest.

Lava flow burns vegetation near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of Hawaii. The Hawaii National Guard is deploying troops to a rural Hawaii town as lava makes a slow crawl toward a major road and threatens to further isolate the community that got...