(BIVN) – As Kīlauea Volcano enters a new and destructive phase, most of the attention is on Puna’s lower East Rift Zone and Volcano’s summit area. However, Kaʻū is also feeling the effects.

Communities like Pahala, Naʻalehu, Waiohinu, and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates are downwind of the summit, which continues to erupt ash intermittently from the expanding vent within Halemaʻumaʻu crater. Volcanic gas emissions at the summit remain high, and the resulting vog has hit the island hard, especially west of Ocean View into Kona.

On Wednesday evening, residents of Kaʻū attended a community meeting on air quality, held at Pahala’s vog-proof Multi-Purpose Room at the new Robert Herkes Gym. They were able to ask a panel of local, state and federal officials questions about the response to the situation.