(ABOVE PHOTO) The June 27th lava flow remains active. This image was posted on the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website on Wednesday evening. It shows the lava less than a mile away from leaving the Wao Kele o Puna forest reserve and entering the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision (visible at the bottom of the photograph). The lava has left a ground crack and advancing through thick forest, creating dense plumes of smoke.

PUNA, Hawaii – Concerns in Kaohe Subdivision grow as the June 27th lava draws near. On Wednesday the lava flow front emerged again from a ground crack and continued to advance eastward.

Hawaii County Civil Defense had this to say in its Eruption and Lava Flow Information Update for Thursday September 4th (at 8:30 a.m.)

Daily helicopter over flights and assessments are continuing. This morning’s helicopter assessment shows the surface lava flow continues and is moving very slowly in a east/northeast direction. The surface flow has advanced less than 100 yards since yesterday. There continues to be some evidence of subsurface flow activity with noted by steam plumes being emitted from the crack system. The surface flow is moving very slowly and does not pose an immediate threat to area residents. The surface flow is located approximately .8 miles southwest or upslope of the Wao Kele Puna Forest Reserve boundary and moving in an east/northeast direction.

Presently, the current activities and flow does not present with an immediate or imminent threat to area communities. Eruption activity will continue to be monitored and additional updates will be provided.

Although the current flow activity does not pose an immediate threat to area communities, residents are encouraged to continue to review their emergency plans in the event conditions change and should an evacuation be necessary.

The public is reminded that the flow cannot be accessed and is not visible from any public areas. Please do not attempt to access the area as there are many cracks and dense vegetation. In addition please refrain from attempting to do so through the Kaohe Homesteads subdivision and respect the privacy of area residents. Enforcement officers of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources will be conducting patrols and reminding persons in the area of the restricted access.Hawaii County Civil Defense on Sept. 4, 2014

Residents of Kaohe Homesteads have a lot of questions right now, and civil defense is doing their best to answer them. Here (video below) is an example of the sort of concerns being expressed at the moment, from the public meeting on Tuesday night held in Pahoa.

USGS HVO photo: One small portion of the flow front was quite vigorous, with an open stream of lava moving through the forest.

USGS HVO: “Map showing the June 27th flow in Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone as of September 3, 2014. The area of the flow as mapped on September 1 is shown in pink, while widening and advancement of the flow as of September 3 is shown in red. Last night, lava welled up out of the crack it was filling and spilled out onto the ground to feed new surface flows. As of early afternoon today (September 3), lava on the surface was 13.2 km (8.2 miles) from the vent and 1.3 km (0.8 miles) from the east boundary of the Wao Kele o Puna Forest Reserve. All older lava flows (1983–2014) are shown in gray; the yellow line marks the lava tube.”