Hawaii Lava Flow Engulfs First Home

It's been inching its way toward evacuated residences since June
By Elizabeth Armstrong Moore,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 11, 2014 2:00 AM CST
Hawaii Lava Flow Engulfs First Home
In this image made from video provided by the County of Hawaii, lava flow from the Kilauea volcano burns a residential structure on Nov. 10, 2014, in Pahoa, Hawaii.   (AP Photo/County of Hawaii)

Kilauea in Hawaii has been an active volcano since 1983, and it's just claimed its first house. The 2,000-degree Fahrenheit lava flow has been inching its way toward the remote Pahoa village since June, reports CNN, so residents have long since cleared out, catching glimpses of the state of things from photos taken by visiting scientists surveying the scene.

The main lava flow has actually slowed to a stall for the past week, but a smaller side flow managed to ooze out toward the home, eventually engulfing it. "The lava spread out and ignited the house before noon local time," a spokeswoman says. "There are no other homes in imminent danger. We are watching the flow closely and continue to monitor it." (When the lava wiped out a cemetery last week, it somehow avoided a solitary headstone with fresh flowers still on it.)

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