As the eruption of Mauna Loa persists -- lava continues to creep towards a key Hawai'i Island roadway.
As the eruption on Mauna Loa persists, lava continues to creep towards a key Hawai'i island highway.
Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey reported Friday the flow is now about 2.7 miles away from the Daniel K Inouye Highway, a little more than a half-mile closer than it was Thursday.
"So a little bit of progress over night, but not much, now that the flow is on flatter ground," David Phillips of the Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory said.
The USGS also reported one active fissure, known as fissure 3, is continuing to feed lava downslope. Fissure 4 is sluggish, volcano observers added, and the other two are inactive.
The eruption is still contained within the northeast rift zone and there is no active lava in the Moku'aweoweo caldera.
Over the past 24 hours, observers said the flow has been advancing at about 150 feet per hour.
"The last couple of days, it's really slowed down and it's currently spread out along the wide flow front," Phillips explained.
To avoid traffic hazards for onlookers, county leaders have opened up a 4 1/2 mile long viewing area on Old Saddle Road across of the Gilbert Kahele Recreation Park.
Hawai'i County Mayor Mitch Roth said about 2,000 people passed through the new traffic mitigation route Thursday night.
"The other night before we opened up the traffic hazard mitigation route, we also saw bumper to bumper traffic," Roth pointed out.
"Last night as we drove through, traffic was flowing well so that's important for our people that live in Hilo or live in Kona that go across the island and are coming back in the evening."
Experts maintain it's hard to determine how long the eruption will last. The eruption is still on track to potentially cross the Daniel K Inouye Highway in about a week.
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'A'ali'i is a reporter with KITV. He was born and raised on the island of Maui and graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in Journalism.
