Officials at the Hawaii County Civil Defense expected to see the lava reach the Pahoa Shopping Center on or around Christmas. Fortunately, the flow seems to have come up short. According to the Associated Press, civil defense administrator Darryl Oliveira said on Tuesday that the lava appears to have stalled and hardened just 700 yards away from the island's biggest shopping center.
Thought the lava did not reach the shopping center, all had already begun to execute emergency plans. According to Big Island News, a majority of the stores were ready to evacuate their employees and had started to remove inventory. The nearby gas station had drained its pumps of gas and filled them with a mixture of water and firefighter foam. The local Ace Hardware had even started to find its employees jobs in different locations.
It seems that a Christmas miracle occurred here allowing last minute shoppers to complete their lists and more importantly, allowing merchants and businesspersons to keep their storefronts and livelihoods.
"Somebody told me it's a Christmas miracle," said Becky Petersen, owner of Jungle Love, a clothing boutique in the Pahoa Shopping Center. "I don't know what it is. I know it's a real blessing."
This isn't the first time this year the Pahoa has been spared devastation from lava. Early in November, a different branch of lava stalled just before hitting a main road that would've left many residents stranded, cutting off access to other parts of the island. Kilauea Volcano, the volcano from which all the branches of lava flow, has been active since an eruption back in 1983.
Oliveira said, that while the merchants are experiencing some relief and the hardened lava likely indicates a change in direction, they are not completely out of harm's way. There is a new branch of lava about 300 yards upslope and, according to scientist Steven Brantley from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory that means the volcano is still very active. Because there are additional breakouts, it is also not clear whether this branch of lava has stopped or is only stalled temporarily. In either case, Oliveira said that if it does start moving again, it will likely take another 10 days to reach the shopping center.
