The ongoing eruption of the Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii has forced the hands of state officials to call in the activation of the national guard due to worries about the lava flows moving ever closer to a primary commuter highway.
For the past ten days, the volcano has been continuously belching lava. These lava flows are now just under two miles out from the Daniel K. Inouye Highway, however, there is still no significant threat “to any communities at this time,” as explained by the County of Hawaii Hazard Impact Map website. The highway is the main artery for crossing from one side of the island to the other.
The U.S. Geological Survey stated in a Tuesday report that “the flow front was about 1.93 mi (3.1 km) from the Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Saddle Road).”
As of Monday, however, the Emergency Management Agency for the state has announced the activation of the state’s National Guard forces.
“Hawaii’s Defense Department said outgoing Gov. David Ige and Maj. General Kenneth Hara activated 20 Hawai’i National Guard service members on Monday and placed them on active duty to assist Hawai’i County with traffic control and other roles in the Mauna Loa eruption,” explained the agency via a social media post.
Hawaii's Defense Department said outgoing Gov. David Ige and Maj. General Kenneth Hara activated 20 Hawai'i National Guard service members on Monday and placed them on active duty to assist Hawai'i County with traffic control and other roles in the Mauna Loa eruption. #MaunaLoa
— Hawaii EMA (@Hawaii_EMA) December 5, 2022
The survey observed that the flow of the lava has been picking up speed. “During the past 24 hours, the lava flow advanced at an average rate of about 68 feet per hour […] about twice the rate for the past several days. Over shorter periods, the advance rate varied from 62 to 90 feet per hour,” it stated.
Despite this, when the lava flows out into a more flat area, “lava flows advance more slowly, spread out, and inflate,” it highlighted.
The massive lava flows have managed to attract a large number of tourists and other observers who want to watch the active eruption of the volcano. Mauna Loa has been given the title of the largest active volcano in the world and first started to erupt back on the 27th of November for the first time in well over four decades. Kilauea is another area volcano that is nearby and has also been actively erupting for almost a year.
As of writing, Daniel K. Inouye Highway is still fully open, but areas near the highway have been closed down and made unavailable to the public out of an abundance of caution, as explained by Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth.
“With the lava being where it’s at, we feel pretty certain that the lava won’t impact any populated areas,” stated Roth while speaking at a press conference on Monday. “There’s a lot of (moving) pieces. How fast it’s moving. How close it’s gonna come to the highway. How long it will take if there’s any dangers that we’re seeing.”
