Wow, with the latest updates on the 18th fissure opening up, and reading about how it is just now pushing out the last of the lava from the flow in the 1950's, I am hoping lower Puna even exists when it finishes. I feel so bad for all the people losing their homes, their livelihoods, I just cannot imagine how helpless they must feel. From what I read, the new lava is much more viscous than the old, and is shooting 300 feet in the air instead of just 100. I would think that means it will move a little faster, and claim more land as opposed to piling up higher.

I feel kind of a guilty pleasure, as I find it so fascinating, but sad at the same time. A year ago I considered looking at homes in the area, quickly changed my mind just because I lived on an island as a teen, and do not want to again. I have been looking at a lot of the sales of property in the area, much of it very recent.