(ABOVE PHOTO) Hawaii County Civil Defense Lava Flow Map, updated Friday, 11/21/14 at 7:00 a.m. HST with the location of the Old Geothermal Well Pad Site added. The map was posted to the Civil Defense Facebook page.

NEWS BRIEFS

• Upslope breakouts remain active, civil defense reports. The breakouts nearest Pahoa are located approximately 3.6 miles upslope of Apa’a Street.
• The evacuation advisory for those residents down slope as well as the closure of Pahoa Village Road remain in effect, although officials have announced their intention of re-opening the road early next week as long as the lava is not active near Pahoa. Civil defense also plans to downsize the command center in Pahoa, at least for the short term.
• IMPORTANT SURVEY: The County of Hawaii is asking residents of Puna to complete the “June 27th Lava Flow Community Needs Survey”. The survey is a collaborative effort of Hawai’i Island United Way and its non-profit partner agencies, Hawai’i County Civil Defense, Dr. Mark Kimura and Dr. Kathryn Besio from the University of Hawai’i Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, and other health and human service providers. “Your participation in this survey is voluntary,” said civil defense on its Facebook page. “The information provided will help health and human service providers plan to best address community identified needs.” LINK: June 27th Lava Flow Community Needs Survey

RELATED VIDEO

Friday’s Civil Defense message with flyover video recorded Thursday morning courtesy the County of Hawaii.

PRIMARY SOURCES

This morning’s assessment shows that the upslope breakouts remain active. The breakouts are located approximately 3.6 miles upslope of the Apa’a Street area and consist of surface breakouts and breakouts along the edges or margins of the flow pad. Presently, all breakout activity does not pose an immediate threat to area communities and the flow activity will continue to be monitored.

Residents in the down slope areas will be kept informed of any changes and the flow status and advancement.

The evacuation advisory for those residents down slope of the flow will continue and residents will be kept informed of the flow status and advancement.

The Pahoa Village Road between Apa’a Street and the Post Office Road will remain closed and limited to area residents only. Access to the businesses and commercial areas of the Pahoa town can be made through the Pahoa Village Road at the intersection of Highways 130 and 132 and the Post Office Road. We apologize for any inconvenience the road closure may be presenting with and remind everyone that the Pahoa town center and businesses are open and accessible. The reopening of the Pahoa Village road is being considered and every effort will be made to open the road as soon as safe to do so.

Civil Defense and public safety personnel will be operating in the area round the clock to maintain close observations of flow activity.

Additional updates will be broadcast as conditions change.

We would like to thank everyone for your patience and understanding and your cooperation and assistance is greatly appreciated. Hawaii County Civil Defense on Nov. 22 at 8:30 a.m. HST

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone. An overflight this morning by Hawai`i County Civil Defense showed that breakouts remain active around the crack system. The flow from the lowest breakout in the crack system has advanced in the past couple of days, and is moving along the western boundary of the existing June 27th flow; the leading edge is about 6 km (3.7 mi) in a straight line distance upslope of Apa`a St. Kīlauea’s summit began a deflationary trend late last night, and is continuing at a lower rate this morning. The level of the summit lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater lowered only slightly.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: Yesterday’s overflight was cancelled because of poor weather conditions. Fieldwork by HVO scientists on Thursday and an overflight by Civil Defense on Friday showed that lava flowing in the lowermost part of the ground crack system advanced northeast in the crack system and north along the western boundary of the original June 27th flow. By Thursday, the leading edge advanced about 500 meters (0.3 miles) northeast of the abandoned geothermal well site, and about 1.9 km (1.2 miles) west of Kaohe Homesteads. By Friday morning, this flow had reached a ground crack (the same ground crack which lava partially filled, and flowed out of, around September 6) about 300 meters (0.2 miles) north of the front as mapped on Thursday. There were no signs of active breakouts downslope (north) of this activity. The next HVO overflight is scheduled for Monday, weather permitting.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: No significant changes were noted near Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Seismic tremor continued with relatively steady amplitude, and webcams revealed no strong variations in the pattern of glow from degassing vents nor the configuration of the crater floor. The tiltmeter at Puʻu ʻŌʻō recorded a slight deflationary trend starting yesterday afternoon, which is continuing this morning. The GPS-measured length across the cone has not changed significantly since July. The most recent measurement of sulfur dioxide emissions from the East Rift Zone was about 250 tonnes per day on November 18, 2014.

Summit Observations: The summit tiltmeter showed deflationary tilt starting late last night, which is continuing at a lower rate this morning. The surface height of the lava lake in the Overlook vent lowered only slightly. Volcanic tremor persisted at fluctuating amplitudes based on spattering activity in the lake. Small amounts of particulate material were carried aloft by the plume. Summit emissions of sulfur dioxide were measured at 4,400 tonnes/day on November 18 (see caveat below). USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Nov. 22 at 10:08 a.m. HST