Loading ...I live about 5 miles north of the Leilani eruption site… at the top of the map where it says “Hawaiian Beaches”. I’m on the edge of the purple lava flow of 1840. When my house was built in 1972, they only crushed and graded the front half of the lot where the house is built on a slab. My backyard has beautiful Pahoehoe ‘ropey’ lava flows and lava domes exposed among the fruit trees. I’m told the original owners had it as a beautiful rock garden. After decades of neglect I have uncovered some of these beautiful rock features, and the cleanup is ongoing. The jungle never rests!
While nowhere is absolutely immune to lava on the southern half of this island, I knowingly chose to stay a safe distance from the historically known eruptive areas of Kilauea’s east rift zone, and the lava flow shelf of lower Puna to the south. So far it has been a good decision, and I’m comfortable here.