(ABOVE PHOTO) Hawaii County Civil Defense overflight photo shows the active lava flow front on Dec. 4.

NEWS BRIEFS

• The rate of advance of the lava flow front has decreased, moving 170 yards downslope since yesterday. The front remains 2.5 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection.
• Smoke conditions were moderate this morning in the immediate area and down through the Kaohe, Leilani, Nanawale, and other lower Puna areas to the southeast of the flow.
• The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says the flow has reached an area of flat topography where several lines of steepest descent nearly converge. “Until the flow passes this area of flat topography,” scientists write, “the future flow path is uncertain.”
• There will be another community meeting on the lava flow at 6:30 p.m. tonight (Dec. 4) at the Pahoa High School cafeteria.

PRIMARY SOURCES

This morning’s assessment shows that the flow front continues to show signs of advancement. The active flow front remains approximately 2.5 miles upslope of the Highway 130 and Pahoa Village Road intersection. The flow had advanced approximately 170 yards since yesterday. Current activity does not pose an immediate threat to area communities and Civil Defense and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory personnel are maintaining close observations of flow activity. Residents down slope will be kept informed of any changes in flow activity, advancement, and status.

Smoke conditions were moderate this morning in the immediate area and down through the Kaohe, Leilani, Nanawale, and other lower Puna areas to the southeast of the flow. Smoke conditions may increase in some areas and residents that may be sensitive or have respiratory problems are advised to take precautions and to remain indoors.

The Pahoa Village Road remains open to all traffic and motorists are advised to exercise caution as some utility pole protection material remains in place. Everyone is asked to please respect the residents of the area who were affected by the lava flow and to not trespass on private property.

Once again we would like to thank everyone for your patience and understanding and your cooperation and assistance is greatly appreciated. Hawaii County Civil Defense on Dec. 4 at 8:45 a.m. HST

Inset of a civil defense map posted on Dec. 4. The yellow dot is the location of the distal tip of the active flow front.

Kīlauea Volcano continues to erupt at its summit and within its East Rift Zone. A finger of lava has broken away from the west edge of the flow field below the crack system continued to move to the north. The leading edge of this finger is approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) above the intersection of Pāhoa Village Road and Highway 130, near the Pahoa Marketplace. The summit is currently undergoing inflationary tilt after a small deflation on December 3.

June 27th Lava Flow Observations: HVO is monitoring a narrow finger of lava that has broken away from the west edge of the flow field below the crack system and that is moving to the north at rates of several hundred meters per day. Webcam imagery of smoke from burning vegetation at the flow front indicates that the flow continues to advance although at a reduced advance rate compared to the past several days. An overflight by Civil Defense on Thursday morning located the leading edge as being approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) above the intersection of Pāhoa Village Road and Highway 130, near the Pahoa Marketplace. The flow has reached an area where several lines of steepest descent nearly converge due to flat topography. Until the flow passes this area of flat topography, the future flow path is uncertain.

Puʻu ʻŌʻō Observations: Deflation of Puʻu ʻŌʻō continues, presumably as a consequence of the DI event that is ongoing at the summit. Decreasing rates of deflation since approximately midnight on December 4 are correlated with rainfall and is probably not related to the magma system at Puʻu ʻŌʻō. All other monitoring data indicate no significant changes at Puʻu ʻŌʻō. Seismic tremor is low and steady, and webcams revealed no strong variations in the pattern of glow from degassing vents or the configuration of the crater floor. GPS-measured deformation across the cone has shown neither extension nor contraction since July. The most recent measurement of sulfur dioxide emissions from the East Rift Zone was about 250 tonnes per day on November 26, 2014.

Summit Observations: DI deflation changed to inflation at approximately 10:00 PM on December 3 . Deflationary tilt prevailed early in the day on December 3 accumulating nearly one microradian over approximately 19 hours. Inflationary tilt has totaled 1 microradian thus far. The summit lava lake showed the usual fluctuations associated with changes in spattering behavior, which are also manifested as variations in tremor amplitudes. There was a small composite event at 4:16 AM on December 4. Small amounts of particulate material were carried aloft by the plume. The average emission rate of sulfur dioxide was 4,300 tonnes/day for the week ending on December 2 USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Dec. 4 at 8:54 a.m. HST