Lava from the world's largest volcano is no longer an imminent threat to the main highway across the Big Island of Hawaii, scientists said Thursday, a development that was a welcome reprieve for motorists who depend on the road.
Mauna Loa was still erupting Thursday morning, but the lava that was feeding the flow heading toward the crucial road has been cut off, likely because of a reduced production rate, said David Phillips, deputy scientist-in-charge at U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
"So just to emphasize, there is no current threat to any island communities or infrastructure at this time," Phillips said. If there are additional flows in the channel, it's very unlikely that supply from the top will push the flow front ahead to become a threat, said Frank Trusdell, a geologist with the volcano observatory.
Some 20,000 vehicles have used a viewing route, which opened last week in an attempt to manage throngs of nighttime lava-gawkers, officials said.
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