KALAPANA, Hawaii – The 61g lava flow front reached the base of the pali yesterday, and today spread out a short distance onto the coastal plain.

USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists report channelized ʻaʻā “remains active on the steep portion of the pali, with several parallel channels of swiftly moving lava.”

Vulcanographer Mick Kalber recorded the lava “pooling in the coastal flats in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, near the abandoned Royal Gardens subdivision.”

“The volume of lava descending the Pali was enormous today,” reported Kalber, who was flying aboard Paradise Helicopters. “Pele has also formed a channelized flow nearly the length of the Pali, which will no doubt become the main lava tube route. The pahoehoe has become a’a at the bottom of the cliff scarp (Pali), and several a’a flows above sent lava rocks rolling downhill in a shower of hot rock. Interestingly, the amount of lava has not subsided on her journey from the Pu’u ‘O’o vent.”

The flow is about 2 miles from the ocean.

image from video by Mick Kalber