KALAPANA, Hawaii – Visitors and residents on Hawaii Island are excited to once again have a chance to see flowing lava, as the 61g flow makes its way down Pulama pali and heads towards the ocean.

The lava has already traveled down to the base of the pali. The flow advanced nearly a half a mile between Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. The flow is now over 4.7 miles long and a little over 2 miles from the ocean.

County officials opened a public viewing area in Kalapana today. Lava viewing along the three mile stretch of the County’s portion of the emergency road is permitted daily between the hours of 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., officials say. Vehicular traffic on the emergency road will be limited to local residents and emergency vehicles.

During the Pahoa lava emergency, public access was heavily restricted due to the nature of the situation. Even media was kept a distance from the potential disaster that mercifully spared the Puna region.

On Wednesday, interim Civil Defense administrator Ed Teixeira reflected on the differences in the two lava viewing scenarios; the main difference being that there is no state of emergency during the current activity.