The June 27 Kilauea lava flow front crossed Apa’a Street around 3:50 a.m. Saturday and continues to advance in a northeast direction toward the Pahoa Cemetery, Director of Hawaii County Civil Defense Darryl Oliveira said.

The flow has advanced approximately 60 yards since 6:30 a.m. 

As of 1 p.m. the flow was approximately 125 yards downslope of Apa’a St. and moving down the driveway to the cemetery, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. The flow is 0.6 miles from Pahoa Village Road and 1 mile from Highway 130.

The flow is currently moving at approximately 10 yards per hour.

Smoke from the burning asphalt is not affecting area communities at this time but conditions could change with the varying winds, county officials said.

Residents in the flow path are on an evacuation notice, meaning residents should prepare for possible evacuation within the next three to five days if necessary.

Oliveira said Civil Defense and public safety personnel are be going door to door to notify residents in the down slope areas of Pahoa Village of the current lava activity.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory representatives report the flow has been confined over the past few days but could spread out of the next day or so.

Apaa Street and Cemetery Road is closed between the Pahoa Transfer Station and the Kaohe Homesteads Road.

Oliveira said the county is currently working with the American Red Cross and the Sure Foundation for shelter preparations.

Hawaii Electric Light reports that its power poles along Apaa Street remain in place as the lava flow crossed the road earlier this morning. 

“We are encouraged by the initial result of the pole protection design, but the long term results are still not determined,” said HELCO spokeswoman Rhea Lee. “We will continue to closely monitor the flow and its effect on our infrastructure. As the lava flow progresses, we expect the lava will rise and inflate. This is the second test of our experimental design.”

There are no outages at this time.