PAHOA, Hawaii » A steady stream of about 1,000 visitors made their way to see cooled lava near the Pahoa Recycling and Transfer Station Wednesday.

At the temporary viewing station were representatives from the University of Hawaii at Hilo geology department and the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes, members of Hawaii County Civil Defense, National Guard and Hawaii County police.

Although there’s now a place that the public can go to see the so-called June 27th Kilauea Volcano lava flow, the area may be closed if lava that broke out in another area reaches Pahoa Marketplace in the next few days.

Resources would be focused on the marketplace at that time, said Hawaii County officials, who estimated there were 1,000 visitors on the first day of public lava viewing.

Danielle Smith, an employee with Green Travel and Tours, was at the waste and recycling center Wednesday to inquire about giving tours. She said she wasn’t sure if the company would start tours just yet, in case the county closes the site next week.

"We’ll just have to wait and see," she said.

Nearby was Sue Burnick from Florida, who was celebrating her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband. She had been tracking the lava from the mainland for the past few months. Burnick said she and her husband had been thinking about a trip to Hawaii, and when they caught wind that the lava was making its way toward Pahoa town they decided "that was it."

"We’re going!" she said. "It’s really something."

Access to cooled lava was limited to the transfer station and nearby Apaa Street, where lava crossed the road in October. Viewing is being allowed from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Visitors of all ages were walking around the station, snapping pictures and talking to each other about the nature of the flow and the new front that had advanced another 220 yards since Tuesday and was about 0.9 miles upslope from the shopping center and the intersection of Pahoa Village Road and Highway 130.

The U.S. Geological Survey observatory issued a Volcanic Activity Notice Tuesday night, warning that the flow was moving at an average rate of 310 yards a day since Dec. 9 and that the steepest descent path leads to the Pahoa Marketplace.

Since the lava breakout emerged from the main flow near an underground crack system, the lava’s advance rate has varied from about 110 yards a day to more than 490 yards a day, averaging 330 yards a day.

The flow front widened Tuesday and took a slight turn to the north, but is still expected to follow the steepest descent path to the intersection of Pahoa Village Road and Highway 130 near the Pahoa Marketplace, geologists said Wednesday.

At the shopping center, Malama Mart Gas N Go closed on Tuesday while Malama Market — the area’s main grocery store — will close Thursday.

The center was slammed on Wednesday with visitors and residents alike trying to finish some last-minute shopping.

"Its madness," said David Gradwohl, an employee at Pahoa Battery and Propane, also in the marketplace.

Gradwohl spent much of the morning directing traffic in the marketplace’s packed parking lot, where some cars doubled parked and drivers still waiting for parking spaces circled.

A few doors down, Abby Petersen, an employee at a local boutique called Jungle Love, chatted with grim-faced customers about the stressful situation and what life might be like for residents once the market closes.

"Everybody is on edge. Everybody is stressed out and freaking out," Petersen said. "Even if the lava stops, the damage has already been done."