When a Lava Eruption Becomes the Same Old, Same Old
Thank you to every one who keeps asking about our safety (and that of our dogs), but this will probably be my last regular lava update. I’ll pop in from time to time if something changes, and I’ll still post the occasional picture on Facebook, but honestly we’re at the “same old, same old” stage now. My husband spends many of his working hours and a fair number of his non-paid ones dealing with the impacts of the current eruption, and he dislikes the term “new normal.” It sticks, though, probably because it’s simple and we don’t have a better Read more…
The Weekend is Upon Us, Even in Lava Land–Seize a Lizard! (That means do something.)
Not to be anticlimactic, but yes, the lava is still flowing out of Lower Puna, specifically out of Fissure 8 all the way to the sea in a lava river. The beginning of this USGS video from yesterday (June 14, 2018) shows standing waves in the lava, like a beach day in Hell. In fact, I spent way too much time this morning trying (unsuccessfully) to find my pictures of a place that no longer exists, as if Pele wiped out all digital evidence, too. Perhaps a later blog post… Sometimes it’s sunny and sometimes it’s raining, but this is Read more…
An Update on Lava and—oh yeah, Writing! With Bonus Crazy Lava Sky Pictures
We’re still here, and still breathing (sort of) in Lower Puna. I don’t want this to become the weekly lava bulletin, and I don’t want to get sucked down the rabbit hole, so I’ll keep my update relatively brief, with promises for a more in-depth post soon. (I’m also adding Lava blog post categories to the dropdown.) The lava is still flowing, often much faster. It crossed another highway, buried two wells at Puna Geothermal Venture in lava, and is threatening other residential areas, triggering additional evacuations. Seeing a couple of the huge, 40+ passenger Super Stallion military choppers flying overhead Read more…
Waiting for The Big One: More Notes from Lava Land
You’re leaving us alone, aren’t you? Alone to face the lava and acid rain… That’s what my dogs’ faces said to me this morning as I closed windows. Let me be clear. We do live in lower Puna, but approximately eight miles from Leilani Estates. We are in no danger of being engulfed by lava. And I’m pretty sure the dumping rain outside was not acidic, or at least not of the Raiders of the Lost Ark, face-melting variety. But those were my dogs’ words (and not me projecting, I swear). Kilauea 2018 (I know, lousy T-shirt) continues here on Read more…
If the House is Rocking… You Must Be on Big Island
This morning, I was awakened by loud, endless dog licking. But after that, I was nudged (you’re still awake, right? because the dog’s still licking) at around 6:20 a.m. by a military-sounding helicopter. (A pair flew so low earlier this week, I could feel it in the floor and had flashbacks to Airwolf. Ahh, Stringfellow Hawke…) A few minutes later, someone in our neighborhood starting mowing with one of those monster machines big enough to mount a gun turret. Who mows before 6:30 a.m.?? My mower husband’s answer: someone who wants to get it done before work. But back to Read more…
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