A total of 82 structures were confirmed destroyed by the Kilauea eruption since May 3, while 37 additional structures are inaccessible due to lava as of Friday.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno on Friday said the number of destroyed structures includes residences, nonresidences and unpermitted structures. The total is based on county real property tax data and the Office of Housing and Community Development.
The total also is a sharp increase from the previous estimated number of destroyed structures, which was at 50 Thursday afternoon. Because of increased volcanic activity in lower Puna this week, Civil Defense could not easily visually confirm destroyed structures and thus refrained from releasing updated totals until a number could be confirmed, Magno said.
The isolated structures, meanwhile, are currently still intact and not necessarily surrounded by lava, Magno said. However, roads providing access to the structures have been cut off by lava and cannot be reached by road, although Magno conceded it “wouldn’t be accurate” to assume they are all uninhabited.
Air quality
The northeasterly trade winds are expected to hold throughout the weekend, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ashley Sears, sparing much of the east side of the island from sulfur dioxide emissions and vog. However, Sears said, the winds are expected to slow over the weekend, with speeds of between 5 and 10 mph and a more westerly direction during nighttime hours.
Sears also said a low-pressure region approaching from the west might lead to winds shifting to the southeast and a potential pooling of vog near the fissures in the early part of next week, but added there is still some uncertainty regarding whether that will occur.
Because of the weaker winds, vog and ash might impact residents and travelers. Civil Defense advises residents to be prepared to leave an affected area quickly and for drivers to travel with extreme caution because vog can impede visibility and ash can cause adverse driving conditions.
Particulate masks will be available for the general public from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today at mask distribution centers located at the Pahala Gymnasium and Naalehu Nutrition Center. While the masks will protect against ash, they offer no such defense against toxic gas.
The three Red Cross shelters for those displaced by the eruption housed a total of 230 evacuees as of Friday afternoon, 199 of which were at the Pahoa shelter, 13 in the Keaau shelter and 18 at the Sure Foundation shelter.
Air evacuation
In case of a mandatory mass evacuation, two U.S. Marine Corps helicopters are stationed at Hilo International Airport until Monday, along with a crew of 17 Marines.
The helicopters, CH-53 Sea Stallions, each can carry up to 43 passengers and together can evacuate approximately 400 people in four hours, said Maj. David Bachta, commander of troops for the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463.
Bachta on Friday said his squadron is prepared to respond to an evacuation order within an hour and has approximately 20 potential landing zones designated around lower Puna. Because the helicopters can carry approximately 12,500 pounds of passengers and luggage, evacuees are advised to bring minimal baggage.
Maj. Jeff Hickman of the Hawaii National Guard said that while the Marine Corps helicopters are only deployed to the Big Island until Monday, changing circumstances with the volcano — for example, a major highway being cut off — could extend their mission.
“It depends on the lava, and frankly, it depends on the number of people affected,” Hickman said.
Even if the Sea Stallions leave the island, however, Hickman said there are a number of helicopters in Hilo, including three HH-60 Pave Hawks, that could respond to an evacuation order.
Ground evacuation
While Highway 130 remains open — despite numerous cracks along its surface at the 14-mile marker — the state Department of Transportation is looking into other contingencies for residents to leave lower Puna if all other roads of egress are cut off.
Transportation spokesman Tim Sakahara said the department is in the process of finalizing a plan to reopen Chain of Craters Road as an evacuation route.
Sakahara said the plan, if approved, will take some time to enact because past lava flows over the road will need to be cleared. When completed, the road will be unpaved, but graded, and used as a one-way-only road: Residents will be able to use it only to leave lower Puna.
Until then, Highway 130 remains the only way in or out of Kalapana and neighboring subdivisions. Cracks in the road have been covered with a metal plate, and emissions from the cracks are being monitored.
Sakahara said temperatures of up to 130 degrees have been recorded from the cracks, which is within tolerance thresholds, as the metal plate is heat resistant. In addition, Wendy Stovall of the U.S. Geological Survey said no sulfur dioxide has been detected leaving the cracks, which would otherwise be a sign of magma.
Further activity
Stovall said volcanic activity in the lower East Rift Zone and at the Kilauea summit remained steady Friday.
Magno said the lava flow has covered a total of 2,223 acres in lower Puna.
The most active fissures remain the seventh and 21st, which have generated a “broad pond” of lava that is covering previous flows in Leilani Estates. Friday evening, lava from the pond crossed Kahukai Street and was moving east. The flow made Mohala Street inaccessible, according to the county.
At Kilauea summit, Stovall said one or two steam explosions are recorded each day, generating ash plumes of approximately 7,000 feet.
Sears said that as long as the ash plumes remain at less than 15,000 feet above ground level, they will continue to be blown to the southwest by the trade winds. If they rise above that threshold, however, higher wind currents could blow ash to the east.
In addition, the terrain at Halema‘uma‘u Crater has altered since the eruption began — 1.3 meters of subsidence have been recorded at the crater floor, Stovall said.
Parks and guests
Jessica Ferracane, spokeswoman for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, said the park will remain closed until USGS confirms it will be safe to reopen. However, she said, guests might not be missing much. Air in the park is “chewy,” she said — a term she uses to describe the ash-choked atmosphere.
“It’s unsafe and an unpleasant place to be,” Ferracane said.
Only the park’s Kahuku unit, near Ocean View, remains open.
Ross Birch, executive director of the Hawaii Island Visitors Bureau, said the number of visitors to the island this year to date is trending somewhat less than at the same point last year. However, the number of visitors this month so far is a 25 percent increase compared to May 2017.
Norwegian Cruise Lines, which canceled several port calls on the Big Island by its ship, Pride of America, during the past several weeks, has resumed docking in Kona, Birch said. The Pride of America will not dock in Hilo for the time being, however, he said.
The estimated loss of business from the Pride of America’s previous cancellations and its future cancellations into June and July is more than $3 million, Birch said.
Ferracane and Sakahara also urged residents to refrain from drinking and driving during the long weekend. Ferracane warned there will be additional law enforcement on the roadways this weekend to look out for impaired drivers.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.