PAHOA — Pahoa Village Road will likely be reopened by Thanksgiving assuming Madame Pele doesn’t return for the holiday. ADVERTISING PAHOA — Pahoa Village Road will likely be reopened by Thanksgiving assuming Madame Pele doesn’t return for the holiday. The
PAHOA — Pahoa Village Road will likely be reopened by Thanksgiving assuming Madame Pele doesn’t return for the holiday.
The road was closed to non-residents between Apa‘a Street and Post Office Road on Oct. 26 as the lava flow neared. The flow front has remained stalled 480 feet from the road since Oct. 30.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said steps will be taken over the weekend to prepare to reopen the road, partially blocked by protective material placed around utility poles, if the June 27 lava flow remains inactive near town.
Cinder placed around the poles could be removed on Monday, allowing full access to return a day or two later.
“The goal is to open (the road) for Thanksgiving and through the weekend,” Oliveira said.
It could be closed again if surface flows returned to Pahoa.
Access to Apa‘a Street will remain restricted, though he said the county is considering establishing a lava viewing area on the street, first to students and then possibly the general public. Such an area would likely be established at the closed Pahoa waste transfer station, located at the end of the road.
On Friday morning, breakouts were active near a series of cracks upslope. The closest surface flow was 3.6 miles from Apa‘a Street.
