. . . And a Volcano Was Fuming: Kilauea

Fountains of lava, smoking forests and lost homes

When Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii erupted with fiery flashes in January, Civil Defense authorities evacuated the inhabitants of Royal Gardens, a settlement in the lava's likely path. Then the temperamental fissure quieted to a seemingly safe simmer, and the 80 or so residents returned home.

But last week, as Kilauea sent a 30-ft.-high river of molten lava oozing down Queen Avenue, Royal Gardens' residents were once again on the move. The 2000° F lava finger, sometimes flowing as fast as 1 ft. per sec., buried two homes. "We were just the first domino," said one of the unfortunate homeowners. "The house just exploded. They said it took 30 seconds." It was the first time a Hawaiian volcano had destroyed a home since 1960, when lava from Kilauea wiped out the entire village of Kapoho, 16 miles away.

This time Kilauea was sending columns of lava 200 to 300 ft. in the air from a fissure some ten miles east of its main crater, which is a popular tourist attraction in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The red-hot viscous rock spewed forth at more than 500,000 cu. yds. per hr., building a deadly tongue of lava five miles long and 500 ft. wide at some points. Trees were not simply overrun or burned, but appeared to blow up in deep, dull explosions. "The lava wall sounded like a load of rocks unloaded off a dump truck," said Park Superintendent David Ames. "And the trees snapped as they were pushed over the flow."

Because a five-month drought has parched the island, Royal Gardens was in greater danger of being consumed by fire than of being engulfed by liquid rock. Civil Defense workers and volunteers stood near the edge of the crumbling lava wall to measure the flow and extinguish blazes ignited on the tinder-box hillsides. Authorities escorted Royal Gardens residents back to their homes one at a time to allow them to retrieve their belongings. Said Kenny Webb, a carpenter: "I had to sneak up through the brush just to save my dog." Another man brought his cow out in a pickup truck.

By week's end the glowing ribbon was less than two miles from the ocean. It was still moving slowly and could take days before it would congeal and stop. Some scientists, noting that new emissions from the volcano had ended, thought that the worst might be over. But no one was really confident that the erratic Kilauea was really ready to settle down for long and live in peace with its worried neighbors.