Concern for Leilani Estates as lava moves eastward underground

[WestCoastGal]

BTW take the location of the videos with a grain of salt. Even when you see a description given it's not necessarily accurate. Case in point I was really puzzled by this video which below said "filmed in Nohea Street". Figured the cross street had to be Leilani but the lava outbreak from the USGS map didn't make sense. Google maps is 7 years old but the trees just didn't match. I love street view and getting a feel for what a beautiful neighborhood this is/was. Found the location based on the palm tree and house on the corner lot. Not filmed on Nohea but on Makamae and Leilani so 2 streets over. Sadly this whole area is obliterated right now where this was taken by the lava flow that spread out. 

https://www.newsflare.com/video/203768/weather-nature/leilani-estates-new-lava-breakout-at-6-am-may-5-2018

Here's a video of Makamae after it's cooled (5/8 video shoot):

https://www.newsflare.com/video/203878/weather-nature/wall-of-cooling-black-lava-blocks-street-in-hawaii

[WestCoastGal]

New: Fissure #15 -- Listening live on HNN to the news reporter talking to the Emergency Operations Center of Civil Defense on the phone about a new breakout south side of Pohoiki Road and Leilani Ave and moving east in line of the Puna Geothermal plant. Fissure location near where the water main break happened a few days ago. It has not crossed Pohoiki Road yet. PGV has said they had already begun to remove the pentane containers. 40,000 gallons of pentane still remain on the property according to the news the reporter has. HNN is showing some helicopter video from Mick Kalber taken this morning over PGV where you can see the line of fissure steam clouds. The news reporter is explaining how the pentane is mixed into a boiling liquid that is pumped 4-7K feet below ground to cause steam for the turbines. 12,000 gallons were in the process of being moved at 11am. Gov. Ige is speaking now on the latest F15 and the concern about PGV. 

The aerial video really does have the fissures looking very close to PGV's property. Think I heard only 1 mile away. You can see the new fissure steam separate from the other ongoing fissure "clouds" at the far left.

 

Coverage of the Summit crater. Discussing of the eruption due to some of the rocks falling into the crater and causing the explosion. 2 of these ash cloud explosions have happened today. Said they haven't seen this since I think 2008. Reaching the water table is a huge concern as gases will mix and typically a very strong eruption can occur. No certainty. Back to F15 and PGV which I've updated above to keep it together.

HNN just showed video footage of trailers taking large tanks of pentane from the plant onto 132 and away from the plant. Missed getting a photo from the side of these tanks but they are of substantial size and quite long. Drive carefully! Not a job I'd want but clearly a necessary one. The other concern Gov Ige was answering from a reporter was about the well heads being damaged and blowing. He did assure people right now the site is safe.

Edited May 10, 2018 by WestCoastGal
Editing as news coverage is updated during this broadcast

[Josh-O]

crazy times over on the big island

[WestCoastGal]

If you are interested in how these wells are capped and drilled in general found this paper on it with diagrams. Some wells apparently go down a total depth of 8K+ feet.

http://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10524/23416/Puna%20GT%20Venture%20Site.pdf

[WestCoastGal]

USGS updates for tonight, Wed 5/9 - 1) Fissure 15 advanced across Poihiki Road (photo posted here). 66 ft of pahoehoe flow as of 4:55pm. F15 is now on the USGS fissure map.

2) New steaming seen uprift of Hwy 130 during a fly over. Still steaming 1-1/2 hours later. No mapping yet but guess would be on/around Ala'ili Road. They did post an aerial photo and you can see the steaming off in the distance at Leilani Estates. USGS posted a photo taken of Ala'ili Road's crack yesterday. I believe in the new steaming photo the patch of green you see is the property near Pele's Breath and Steam Vent Inn on the eastern side of Hwy 130. Unfortunately from the online maps I don't see another way out of Ala'ili Road if it is closed. Given the booming they heard last night, doesn't bode well for Black Sands which is down 130 from Ala'ili subdivision.

3) GPS station 1 mile SE of Nanawale Estates picked up increased motion consistent with magma flow in NE Leilani Estates.

4) Fissure gas emissions still elevated. Most earthqakes located in uprift area west of 130.

5) Summit lake continues to drop. Lake level as of yesterday at around 970 feet below rim based on thermal imaging from yesterday. They used that data to create a 3D model. A very cool, brief 3D model video was published and worth checking out. On Sunday 5/6 the lava lake was 720 feet below the rim.

[Dypsisdean]

10 hours ago, WestCoastGal said:

Dypisdean how bad is the VOG where you are at? Been hearing it's getting worse and the tradewinds are going to die down this weekend.

We normally get some vog from the volcano - from So. Point up to about the Kona airport. More than half the time we see a haze out over the ocean. From what I can tell (I don't get out of my forest on most days), it is more than usual. Nothing other than the normal visual haze where I am, at the northern extent of normal vog. Nothing noticeable otherwise - for me.

[WestCoastGal]

That's good to hear. I had heard some people on the west coast were having breathing issues. My old boss use to co-own a timeshare resort over there and we had an offer to stay there but we ran out of time and never made it to the western side. Keep saying one day we'll make it back. We have relatives on O'ahu.

BTW one last set of updates before calling it a night here, most of HNVP will be closed until further notice due to the possibilities of more eruptions at the summit from falling crater rocks. 

And according to KHON2, they have evacuated 10 homes around Ala'ili Road between Malama Street and Kamaili Road.

Fissure 15 is not active presently.

Leilani Estates residents will still be allowed onto their property from 7am to 6pm until further notice, conditions permitting and with ID and proof of residency. 

[Justin]

WestCoastGal, I am still around.  We were just without power for most of the day, and so I wasn’t online.  It was pretty normal all day, with no real change in the last 24 hours.  I did some home repairs and other chores.

[WestCoastGal]

Hey, great to see you hanging in there. Is the western half of Leilani pretty much normal? Are you still feeling earthquakes? I've seen a few stories about people (est. 30-60) still living in the development. Interesting; not sure if I'd hang around while all that is going on but I can see where it would be tempting to do so. I'd probably want to check on things though.

I thought I was done for the night and then saw Mick Kalber's video from today (glad to see his Vimeo page back up) and thought it might be helpful to anyone looking to see if their house or a friends house was still there. Stay safe.

https://vimeo.com/268868102

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

So here's a report from NPR that summarizes the threat of a steam powered eruption.  It looks like a Royal Palm scorched in the photo.  

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/10/609948589/scientists-warn-that-hawaiis-kilauea-volcano-could-erupt-ballistic-rocks

[Justin]

8 hours ago, WestCoastGal said:

Hey, great to see you hanging in there. Is the western half of Leilani pretty much normal? Are you still feeling earthquakes? I've seen a few stories about people (est. 30-60) still living in the development. Interesting; not sure if I'd hang around while all that is going on but I can see where it would be tempting to do so. I'd probably want to check on things though.

I thought I was done for the night and then saw Mick Kalber's video from today (glad to see his Vimeo page back up) and thought it might be helpful to anyone looking to see if their house or a friends house was still there. Stay safe.

https://vimeo.com/268868102

It is oddly normal.  I actually stayed here last night, and it was just like any other night.  This morning is just like any other morning, except there's no dogs barking, instead replaced by distant helicopter sounds.  So far, I felt the most earthquakes on Tuesday, when there was the most significant activity around here.  Monday had frequent, smaller earthquakes.  Yesterday had very few earthquakes.  This morning there's just been one small one.  I am definitely "on watch" as the earthquakes do seem to have a strong correlation with fissure activity.

[Justin]

Here's a very interesting - and well sourced - article on where future flows might go, based on where the vents are and the topography of Leilani:

https://steemit.com/geology/@gra/forecasting-active-disasters

[DoomsDave]

@Justin, you're a much braver soul than I.

Be careful, be safe, and send pictures, when you can.

We're all hoping for the best for you and your neighbors.

[Pando]

11 hours ago, WestCoastGal said:

2) New steaming seen uprift of Hwy 130 during a fly over. Still steaming 1-1/2 hours later. No mapping yet but guess would be on/around Ala'ili Road. They did post an aerial photo and you can see the steaming off in the distance at Leilani Estates. USGS posted a photo taken of Ala'ili Road's crack yesterday. I believe in the new steaming photo the patch of green you see is the property near Pele's Breath and Steam Vent Inn on the eastern side of Hwy 130. Unfortunately from the online maps I don't see another way out of Ala'ili Road if it is closed. Given the booming they heard last night, doesn't bode well for Black Sands which is down 130 from Ala'ili subdivision.

I did some image matching to find the area of the new fissure from the photo linked above.

First photo by US Geological Survey

 

[bgl]

Thanks Justin for your update and for the link to that article. That was very interesting (and certainly well written). I'm curious - do you have power and internet now? Intermittently? And if so, more often than not, or...?

[Justin]

Power and internet have been constant except for yesterday, and yesterday because of a snapped pole on Leilani just west of Maile.  You may remember that pole, it's the one that has been bent from the day it went in a few years back.  My guess is that all the earthquakes strained it to its (literal) breaking point.  But other than that, everything is fine is "west" Leilani.

[bgl]

Thanks a lot, Justin, and that's excellent and potentially promising news, and let's hope it STAY THAT WAY!!

[DoomsDave]

3 minutes ago, bgl said:

Thanks a lot, Justin, and that's excellent and potentially promising news, and let's hope it STAY THAT WAY!!

We can agree on that much.

[Justin]

Agreed.  The one thing that is noticeable, and it depends on the wind, is that my eyes bug me a bit, I'm assuming from the SO2.  It was noticeably Monday morning, but not at all Tuesday or yesterday.  This morning it's back a bit, but not as bad as Monday morning.

[Kim]

1 hour ago, Justin said:

Here's a very interesting - and well sourced - article on where future flows might go, based on where the vents are and the topography of Leilani:

https://steemit.com/geology/@gra/forecasting-active-disasters

Nicely illustrated article, although that last map just has to be wrong.   But who am I to argue with a volcano? I am thinking of offering some rum into those cracks in front of my house, get Pele to chill...

About the SO2, masks with filters ordered from Amazon. Mask ,  Filters .

[WestCoastGal]

1 hour ago, Justin said:

Here's a very interesting - and well sourced - article on where future flows might go, based on where the vents are and the topography of Leilani:

https://steemit.com/geology/@gra/forecasting-active-disasters

Reading it now as I have some time although not done yet. Thanks for posting. What I found surprising from this was the indication that there cracks on Kumakahi and Alapai Streets?? Are these new? Don't remember hearing about any at the western end. And as I think Kim mentioned earlier in this thread, she's in the steepest drainage line so I have some new concerns for her and Bo. I guess the cracks on 130 would play into those locations and makes me wonder if there's magma flowing in more than one lava tube in that general area. Hadn't really looked like a likely possibilty until this. Wonder if these new cracks are from magma coming from different plumbing (via the Summit) than from the Pu'u O'o system (which appeared in Leilani in what 3-4 days). Lots of questions. Would be incredibly informative if we could "see" the magma plumbing system.

[WestCoastGal]

35 minutes ago, Kim said:

Nicely illustrated article, although that last map just has to be wrong.   But who am I to argue with a volcano? I am thinking of offering some rum into those cracks in front of my house, get Pele to chill...

About the SO2, masks with filters ordered from Amazon. Mask ,  Filters .

Kim I've seen a few interviews and video news coverage of officials saying the masks people are using aren't really helpful and in fact give a false sense of protection. Those filters that you ordered at least mention resistance to sulfur dioxide and should help with the VOC in the air.

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/38118545/doctors-authorities-warn-about-sulfur-dioxide-threat-from-eruptions

Saw this story on Honolulu Star-Advertiser with some of the National Guard troups monitoring the gases in the area. 2 videos.

After your comment on the last map, I peeked ahead to look at the graphic. Let's hope not. Might want to offer up some kalua pig as well as the rum. BTW do you have new cracks in your lot since all this started? 

[WestCoastGal]

52 minutes ago, Justin said:

Agreed.  The one thing that is noticeable, and it depends on the wind, is that my eyes bug me a bit, I'm assuming from the SO2.  It was noticeably Monday morning, but not at all Tuesday or yesterday.  This morning it's back a bit, but not as bad as Monday morning.

Saw this article on KHON2 a few days ago about the effects of sulfur dioxide. As someone who has allergies and occasionally asthma, you don't want to end up with life-long respiratory issues so please be careful. They are saying in the press that the levels in Leilani Estates remains very high. Are you guys getting updates from officials? Curious do officials monitoring the neighborhood know who's staying inside during the evening? I saw they arrested someone the other day for burglarizing a home. So sad.

[Justin]

On the issue of cracks, not all are the same.  Imagine a small scale model, where you pushed up on something from underneath.  There would be the biggest cracks right under where the pressure is, but there would also be smaller cracks to either side of that.  And with something as solid as pavement, if it is being pushed up by a "bubble" (not sure what the shape is, but that's what I envision), it makes sense that it wouldn't just crack right in the middle, it would deform a bit on the sides as well.

[WestCoastGal]

Well it should be relief to many still staying in the area that all of the pentane has been moved according to this Honolulu Star-Advertiser article. Officials had said if all containers exploded it would have a 1-mile blast radius. I looked up where they took them to (along Hwy 11) and the location has schools and actually looks like the whole town area within a 1 mile radius. Can't imagine this storage location is going to go over well with people in the area. I think there is still a big risk of the wells exploding if lava does pass underneath being they are man-made vents to the surface essentially.

Story also includes two video interviews from Lanipuna Gardens residents on Hinalo and Lauone. Apparently residents have been able to go in to retrieve things although that conflicts with what I've seen in the press, not about the gases there being very strong though.

[Kim]

I don't have any new information about the cracks in the pavement in front of my house, but am relieved that they are not in line with the others that are spouting lava. I was joking about pouring rum in that little crack. To make the offering properly, I'd have to toss it into Halema'uma'u, and darn it, the park is closed and I can't get in there. Sigh...

[WestCoastGal]

Justin I was using the Hawaii County GIS mapping tool and printed this out for today (they caution the data should not be relied upon). Anyway I noticed it shows near Malama the following streets as partial closed: Maile, Oneloa, Alapai, and Nohea. I had heard someone in a video say that Nohea was closed but that was in passing. Not showing any lava activity there. Do you know if these streets are closed because of downed powerlines? The area you mentioned on Maile you knew had a downed pole at isn't shown, plus they are showing power out all over. On the morning news HELCO indicated it had around 50 poles downed or damaged in the Leilani/Lanipuna area. Hopefully the roads aren't marked closed due to cracking road surfaces. I don't know what a lineman gets paid but probably not enough especially in disaster areas or bad weather.

[Justin]

2 hours ago, WestCoastGal said:

Justin I was using the Hawaii County GIS mapping tool and printed this out for today (they caution the data should not be relied upon). Anyway I noticed it shows near Malama the following streets as partial closed: Maile, Oneloa, Alapai, and Nohea. I had heard someone in a video say that Nohea was closed but that was in passing. Not showing any lava activity there. Do you know if these streets are closed because of downed powerlines? The area you mentioned on Maile you knew had a downed pole at isn't shown, plus they are showing power out all over. On the morning news HELCO indicated it had around 50 poles downed or damaged in the Leilani/Lanipuna area. Hopefully the roads aren't marked closed due to cracking road surfaces. I don't know what a lineman gets paid but probably not enough especially in disaster areas or bad weather.

Hmm, I wasn't aware any of Maile was closed (I'm on the north side, and never have occasion to go to the south side).  Let me check that out and get back to you.  And I definitely have power - if I didn't, I couldn't be responding right now.

[Justin]

I just drove Maile, Oneloa, and Kumakahi.  The south parts of the streets each have a handful of small cracks (none more than an inch or two, if that), and nothing is closed.  The north parts of these streets don't have any cracks whatsoever.  Fingers crossed it stays that way.

[WestCoastGal]

That is good news and glad you have power back. Thanks for checking. I wonder why they had the streets marked as closed. Would have been nice to have some type of indication on the map. I'll check the map tomorrow and see if it gets updated. 

Still seeing weather reports that the winds are expected to die down and elevate the gas levels in Leilani and elsewhere. Stay aware and safe and thanks for the updates. Are residents still coming in to retrieve things or is it becoming more of a ghost town? Hope you have neighbors around to hang out and band with should you all need to move fast.

[Dypsisdean]

I thought this video might be of interest for the plant people here - showing the effect of the SO2 in at least the area mentioned (Opihikao) - far from Leilani.

The trees that look to be dropping the leaves look to me like Guava. And if so, that is alarming, since I can spray a normal dose of Roundup on Guava and not much happens. With high doses of Roundup the leaves will drop as in this video, but will come back in time. Bottom line is that anything that will affect Guava must be strong.

 

[Justin]

My street is one of the "busiest" in Leilani in that it is the street everyone uses to get up from Leilani to Kahukai.  It has been about 1/4 the traffic of normal, and that's even with people being much more transitory than usual (and with Leilani not going through any more).  So yes, it's substantially less crowded.  Last night was especially odd, I saw only 3 cops between 7pm and 10pm, nothing else.

[Dypsisdean]

I think this is where Opihikao is located.

[Justin]

1 minute ago, Dypsisdean said:

I thought this video might be of interest for the plant people here - showing the effect of the SO2 in at least the area mentioned (Opihikao) - far from Leilani.

The trees that look to be dropping the leaves look to me like Guava. And if so, that is alarming, since I can spray a normal dose of Roundup on Guava and not much happens. With high doses of Roundup the leaves will drop as in this video, but will come back in time. Bottom line is that anything that will affect Guava must be strong.

 

Dean, Opihikao Road curves around, and at it's closest is only a mile (maybe less) south of Malama.  That being said, that's still a good distance, and this is very concerning.

[WestCoastGal]

Just noticed 3 videos posted an hour ago to Youtube by ApauHawaiiTours in Leilani as of today.

 

[WestCoastGal]

wow, surreal. I like his walk-with-me video style and I'm getting a good impression of the area, much better than with google street. Very glad he did these. My impressions. Talk about brown vegetation, you guys weren't kidding. Hard to see so much burned out and knowing it was once so different and people had homes there; but also glad to know that people made it out and appreciate that. At one point I thought he was really close to those wires on the ground and was feeling a bit nervous. Hope he knows HELCO has said they are still charged in many places. The 'a'a looks awfully high. Way too soon to even think about what happens to all of this. The road fractures are pretty much what I've seen in photos but he's right that section that followed the white curve line was strange. Wonder how that is explained. Foggy, voggy, or overcast day not sure which or maybe a combo but gloomy to go with the surroundings. Oh and the sulfur on top of the steaming lava, reminds me of the sulfur banks at HVNP. Still can remember the distinct odor. From the aerial views I've seen Leilani looks like a pretty large community and I know so much of it still is intact. Hope your community center is okay and can be a gathering place again. I see now how Malama is uphill. Had my own map out as he was narrating where he was as he was filming and helped get a sense of this community.

[WestCoastGal]

Guess there were more video from him. All from today. These should be in time order.

BTW in this first video he mentions that Nohea is very strong sulfur odor. Maybe that's why the road was marked closed to prevent people from traveling on it?

Hey, Bo this first video has the house on Moku with the Madagascar palms you sold to the owner. Sad. Hey, the house is there and he says it looks untouched. So happy to hear this. Do you think some of the palms will survive?

OMG next video, look at how high F8 is (Luana). This is the one that had that big lava flow heading NNE from the very high fountaining. Is that Pele's hair that he picks up? And there's an intact house right at the edge before the fissure! Sweet.

The video after this one is the view from F2 (Makamae).

 

[WestCoastGal]

Checked USGS before heading out for the night. They've updated the Alert as of 6:51pm HST. Outbreaks of lava are likely given earthquakes, ground deformation and high sulfur dioxide. Could occur uprift (southwest) and/or downrift (northeast) of existing fissures or resumption of current ones. 

Fissure 15 showing continuing ground deformation along with earthquakes. Magma is migrating further NE.

Hwy 130 still experiencing steaming ground cracks.

Presented in bold in the Alert: Residents should remain informed and heed Hawaii County Civil Defense closures, warnings, and messages (http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts).

Summit lava lake continues to drop. Ash explosions will continue with rock falls.

New photos posted of steaming along Hwy 130 and Ala'ili Road. Photo of considerable widening of crack on Old Kalapana Road.

[Moose]

As long as the Lava Lake continues to drop, this is a major concern and indication that future lava events may be eminent. A lull in activity is not an indicator that the event is subsiding.

Looking at the palms, my curiosity wonders if some of them will be pushing spears again. Not the cooked ones but the palms that look to have been chemically burned by the acidic sulfur. 

[Justin]

Happy Aloha Friday from Leilani.