Sunday, May 6, 2018 $1.75
Watch and wait
After two days of disruptive
and destructive volcanic
activity in lower Puna, residents
received some relief late
Saturday when the eight vents
that had been emitting lava
earlier in the day went quiet.
Five homes were confirmed
destroyed in the Leilani Estates
subdivision as a result of lava
oozing from the fissures, but
by Saturday afternoon all of
the vents had stopped expelling
lava, and the earthquakes
that had rocked the region a
day earlier had subsided.
However, officials cautioned
volcanic activity from Kilauea
volcano likely will ramp up again.
“This is what we’re seeing, is
(the vents) open up for awhile,
and they kind of play out,” said
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory
spokeswoman Janet Babb. “So
that should not be interpreted
as the eruption being over. All
indications show this intrusion
remains active, and the possibility
of an eruption is still there.
Based on what we’ve been
seeing, these fissures are opening
sort of back and forth.”
Officials said the vents also
appear to be “connected” by the
lava that flowed from them.
Hawaii County Civil Defense
Administrator Talmadge Magno
said the county hopes to allow
some evacuees to briefly return
to their homes as soon as today
to retrieve valuables and documents.
He said it would be
“maybe about half” of evacuees
in areas with low levels of sulfur
dioxide and it would be just to
“get their animals and get their
precious documents but we
want them to come back out.”
Seismic activity also decreased
Saturday, though small quakes
still continued throughout the day.
“Things got pretty active
(Saturday). The eight different
vents were active to the point
where lava was spewing, and
the flow started spreading, so
we had additional damage out
there,” Magno said Saturday.
“We thought it was just going to
continue to go. But, fortunately,
seismicity has kind of laid
down, and the vents have gone
quiet for now. But we’re pretty
certain we’re not done yet. …
This is by no means over.”
Hawaii Volcanoes National
Park, which closed Friday, said
it might partially reopen this
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ABOVE: Lava crosses
Leilani Avenue Saturday
in Leilani Estates.
LEFT: Lava fountains
out of a fissure early
Saturday morning in
Leilani Estates.
Photos: DEMIAN BARRIOS/
Special to the Tribune-Herald
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Index
Big Isle History A7
Classified C7
Commentary A8
Crossword C6
Issue No. 126
28 Pages in
3 Sections
Today’s
weather
Page A2
Dear Abby C6
Horoscope C6
Nation A4
Spending Well C4
Sports B1
Stocks A2
Surf report A2
Travel C1
Tropical
Gardening C2
World A9
Weather A3
Internet
Visit us on the Web at:
www.hawaiitribune-herald.com
LEILANI ERUPTION
Kamehameha statue in Kapaau to get help from state
The state plans to take
over maintenance of the
statue of King Kamehameha
the Great, which has been
cared for by a North Kohala
community group since 1883.
The vividly painted 9-foottall
statue stands in Kapaau,
near the birthplace of the
Hawaiian king who unified
the islands and created
the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Every decade, the statue
requires repainting and care
to prevent “bronze disease,”
a form of rapid corrosion
induced by chlorides that
come from the salt water of
the ocean that can be very
destructive if left untreated.
Bronze disease not only
causes the paint on the
statue to deteriorate, it also
causes cracks in the structure
of the statue itself.
The property on which the
statue sits was once owned
by the state but is now owned
by the county, leading to
uncertainty about who is
responsible for caring for it.
“It is unclear whether
ownership of the statue transferred
to the county, and as a
result, the responsibility for
Some might
be allowed to
return to homes
to retrieve items
By NANCY COOK LAUER
West Hawaii Today
See STATUE Page A3
See LAVA Page A3
Aboard the
Hokule‘a
LOCAL, Page A6
By KIRSTEN JOHNSON
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Keep up online
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www.hawaiitribune-herald.
com and our Facebook page
for the latest information about
the eruption in Leilani Estates.
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