The lava from volcano Kilauea in Hawaii is on its path to destroy a small village of Pahoa, sending residents and business owners running away from their homes, according to The Associated Press.
Farmer Josiah Hunt, who has land in a part of Puna that was not immediately threatened, described smelling burning grass, feeling warmth from the lava and hearing "popping and sizzling and all the methane bursts that are happening in the distance ... mixed with the birds chirping and the coqui frogs," according to the AP.
Hunt said its very hard to watch the lava encroach ever since last week, the AP reported. Kilauea is one of the most active volcanos in the world and has been actively erupting since 1983,
As the lava crept toward Pahoa, Hunt spotted a woman whose house is near its path put a lei at the front of the flow, according to the AP.
"It helps a person come to grips with the reality of the situation," Hunt said. "I found it to be oddly comforting in a really strange way."
On Wednesday, rain cooled the lava river as it reached a 240-yard mark before it will most likely burn down the first entire residential home in the rural Hawaii town, the AP reported. The couple that lives in the home has left.
Janet Babb, spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the lava is about 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit, or "ten times hotter than boiling water," but the temperature starts to drop after the lava is exposed to air, according to the AP.
The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said a breakout, or a separate, smaller stream of lava creating a new path, of the lava flow was about 100 feet from a Pahoa residence, the AP reported.
Scientist from the observatory have been walking alongside the lava in order to get the most accurate read possible, according to the AP. The lava is expected to continue on through a commercial hub of the Big Island's sprawling and isolated Puna district.
So far, lava has only burned a garden shed, tires and some metal materials, beside vegetation, the AP reported.
