Residents in Puna’s Leilani Estates subdivision fled with little more than the clothes on their backs Thursday night after an eruption in Kilauea’s east rift zone created a fissure in the community, spewing lava into the air as high as utility poles, covering roads and nearing several homes. Evacuation orders remain in place for the community, home to about 1,700 people, and it’s not yet clear when residents will be able to return home. Two emergency shelters have been opened for evacuees — one at
Pahoa Community and the Keaau Community centers — and a number of families had hunkered down at the facilities for the night. Meanwhile, fire officials warn they’ve detected extremely high levels of dangerous sulfur dioxide in Leilani Estates and are reiterating this message: Get out of the community — if you haven’t already — and stay out until the threat has passed. READ MORE
