Lava Threatens Homes On Hawaii's Big Island

Hot lava — really hot 2,100 degree lava — is slowly creeping through the Big Island towards the community of Pahoa Village.

Residents are evacuating as the thick smoke billows towards their homes and the lava threatens the area's infrastructure. If their homes do succumb to the lava, many residents are being invited back to watch as a means of closure, a Hawaii County official said.

Kilauea volcano has been erupting for more than 31 years and the lava started to flow on June 27, but now the direction of the flow has changed. Previously the lava had traveled south, ultimately reaching the ocean, but this particular lava flow is headed to northeast of the volcano’s vent, directly toward Paho Village.

Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson spoke with Janet Babb, spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, about what is at risk on the Big Island.