The erupting Kilauea volcano in Hawaii has sent a river of molten lava bubbling over roads, homes and businesses as it makes its way to the ocean, according to Reuters.
The lava has already overran a cemetery on its way towards a town of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island, CNN reported.
The lava has crossed onto a residential property and is threatening to consume its first home, according to CNN. Officials have warned the lava is hot enough to incinerate any homes, roads and businesses in its path.
At least 50 or 60 homes and businesses are in an area officials are currently warning will likely be hit, CNN reported.
Civil defense officials in Hawaii County said late Tuesday the lava was about 370 yards from the main road in Pahoa town, the commercial center of Puna, a sprawling, mostly agricultural and forested part on the Big Island, Reuters reported.
The lava is moving forward at a rate of about 10 to 15 yards per hour and had entered private property next to the main road and was burning tires and other materials, according to Reuters. Authorities have asked villagers with respiratory issues to stay indoors.
Since last week, the river of lava has picked up speed after weeks of slow, stop-and-go movement, Reuters reported.
It escaped the forest and pastureland and crossed into inhabited areas for the first time since scientists began warning about lava in August, according to CNN. Then there's the prospect of subsequent flows gradually swallowing more of the community, which is what happened to the Royal Garden and Kalapana subdivisions in the 1980s and 1990s.
