HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii officials will make arrangements for those living in the path of a lava flow to watch the destruction of their homes. 
 
 This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a Hawaii Volcano Observatory geologist standing on a partly cooled section of lava flow near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island of... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Oct. 26, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows the lava flow front of from an eruption that began the June 27, as the front remains active and continues to advance towards the northeast... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows lava flow advancing across the pasture between the Pahoa cemetery and Apaa Street, engulfing a barbed wire fence, near the town of... (Associated Press) 
 
 This pair of images released Oct. 22, 2014 by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a comparison of a normal photograph of the lava flow front, left, with a thermal image of the flow that is threatening the... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Oct. 25, 2014 photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows a small shed being consumed by lava in a pasture between the Pahoa cemetery and Apa?a Street near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this Oct. 24, 2014 photo from the U.S. Geological Survey, the lava flow from Kilauea Volcano that began June 27 is seen as it crossed Apa?a Street near Cemetery Road near the town of Pahoa on the Big... (Associated Press) 
 
 That accommodation is being made to "provide for a means of closure," Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said Monday. "You can only imagine the frustration as well as ... despair they're going through." 
 
 Dozens of residents have been told they might have to evacuate as lava from Kilauea heads toward their homes. 
 
 The lava was about 100 yards from a home Monday morning, officials said. 
 
 After weeks of fitful advancement, the lava crossed Apaa Street on Sunday in Pahoa Village, considered a main town of the Big Island's isolated and rural Puna district. It was getting dangerously close to Pahoa Village Road, which goes straight through downtown. 
 
 Here's a look at the volcano: 
 
 THE LATEST 
 
 The flow advanced about 275 yards from Sunday morning to Monday morning, moving northeast at about 10 to 15 yards per hour. At other times, the lava slowed to about 2 yards per hour or sped up to about 20 yards per hour, depending on topography, said Janet Babb, a spokeswoman for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. 
 
 Teams of scientists from the observatory were walking alongside the flow day and night to provide updates, she said. At 11:15 a.m. Monday, the flow front was 580 yards from Pahoa Village Road. 
 
 Officials closed the Pahoa Village Road between Apaa Street and Post Office Road to everyone except residents. 
 
 Those living downslope of the flow are under an evacuation advisory. Most residents have left or have made arrangements to go somewhere else if necessary. Oliveira said he doesn't anticipate having to issue a mandatory evacuation order. 
 
 The couple living in the house closest to the flow have left but have been returning periodically to gather belongings, Oliveira said. "They are out of the property and awaiting the events to unfold." 
 
 He estimated the lava could reach the house sometime Monday evening. 
 
 Apaa Street resident Imelda Raras, said she and her husband are ready to go to a friend's home if officials tell them they should leave. 
 
 "We are still praying," she said. "I hope our home will be spared." 
 
 SLOW CREEP 
 
 Scientists began warning the public about the lava on Aug. 22. At the time, residents were cleaning up from a tropical storm that made landfall over the Puna district, toppling trees and knocking out electricity. 
 
 The lava has advanced and slowed as residents waited and watched. 
 
 Kilauea volcano, one of the world's most active, has been erupting continuously since 1983. 
 
 This is not an eruption at the caldera, the things that make for stunning pictures as red lava spews from the mountaintop. 
 
 Decomposition of vegetation in the lava's path has created methane gas, which if it accumulates and is ignited by heat can cause a blast, Babb said. 
 
 "It's not a massive explosion," she said. "But it can dislodge rocks. It can hurl large rocks several feet." 
 
 WHO IS AT RISK? 
 
 Initially, the lava seemed headed for the Kaohe Homesteads, a widespread, sparsely populated subdivision in the Puna district. 
 
 It reached vacant lots in the subdivision before it stalled. It skirted the northeast corner of the subdivision and then headed toward Pahoa. 
 
 Pahoa has small-town, quaint and historic charm, but it's "the only town in a commercial sense in lower Puna," said state Sen. Russell Ruderman, who represents Puna and runs a natural food store in Pahoa. 
 
 Because the lava could change direction, any community in Puna is at risk. Everyone in the district lives on the volcano. The lush, agricultural district is about a 30-minute drive from the coastal town of Hilo. 
 
 The lava that crossed Apaa Street is on the other end of the street from the Raras home, but they're bracing for the possibility the lava will spread or change directions. 
 
 COUNTRY-STYLE LIVING 
 
 Why would someone live on an active volcano? Unlike Honolulu, the state's biggest city on the island of Oahu, the Big Island's Puna region has affordable land and offers a more rural way of life. 
 
 Located on the island's southeast side, the area is made up of subdivisions that have unpaved roads of volcanic rock. 
 
 Many live off the grid on solar power and catchment water systems. 
 
 Residents know the risks as there are special insurance requirements to buy land in certain lava zones. 
 
 PREPARATIONS 
 
 Sporadic suspensions in the lava's movement gave emergency crews time to work on building alternate routes to town in the event the flow covers the main road and highway. 
 
 Crews near the leading edge have been wrapping power poles with concrete rings as a layer of protection from lava heat. 
 
 Officials worried that if lava crosses Highway 130, it would isolate Puna from the rest of the island. 
 
 "Puna will be divided into the north side of the flow and the south side of the flow," Ruderman said. 
 
 Raras said they began putting their belongings in storage in September. What they aren't able to take with them, they're photographing for insurance purposes. 
 
 HOW LONG WILL THE RISK REMAIN? 
 
 No one knows if the lava flow will stop, change direction or hit homes. 
 
 In the 1990s, about 200 homes were destroyed by lava flows from Kilauea. 
 
 The last evacuations from the volcano came in 2011. One home was destroyed and others were threatened before the lava changed course. 
 
 CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE 
 
 Kilauea is home to Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Some residents expressed anger at suggestions to divert the flow. They say it's culturally insensitive to interfere with Pele's will. 
 
 YOUNG VOLCANO 
 
 The U.S. Geological Survey says Kilauea is the youngest volcano on Hawaii Island. Officials estimate Kilauea's first eruption happened between 300,000 and 600,000 years ago. 
 
 DON'T CANCEL VACATION PLANS 
 
 The lava isn't a reason to cancel a Big Island vacation because it's an isolated event. 
 
 Officials have warned people to stay away from the area and imposed flight restrictions because of helicopter tours hoping to see lava. 

 HONOLULU (Reuters) - Lava flow from the Kilauea volcano that has been creeping toward inhabited areas of Hawaii's Big Island for months is now just 100 yards (meters) from the nearest residential property, authorities said on Monday. 
 
 Residents in the path of the lava have been placed on alert for possible evacuation, and smoke advisories have been issued for downwind areas, the County of Hawaii said in a civil defense alert. 
 
 The lava flow, which first bubbled out of the continuously erupting volcano on June 27, came to a standstill in late September, but resumed its slow crawl forward several weeks ago. It has moved about 275 yards since Sunday morning. 
 
 The leading edge of the flow, which is about 110 yards wide and spreading, is now heading toward Pahoa village, a historic former sugar plantation consisting of small shops and homes with a population of about 800 people. 
 
 The civil defense message said the lava was advancing about 10 to 15 yards an hour and that authorities would be monitoring it around the clock. Two roads had been closed. 
 
 Crews have been scrambling to build temporary access roads and protect Highway 130, a major route traveled by as many as 10,000 cars a day. 
 
 Without such access roads, some 8,000 people in the Puna district could become "lava-locked" if Highway 130 were to become impassable. 
 
 The Kilauea volcano has erupted from its Pu’u O’o vent since 1983. The last home destroyed by lava on the Big Island was at the Royal Gardens subdivision in Kalapana in 2012, according to Big Island Civil Defense. 
 
 (Reporting by Malia Mattoch McManus in Honolulu and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Peter Cooney) 

 Residents in immediate area told to prepare to evacuate 
 
 By Craig Gima, Megan Moseley & Timothy Hurley 
 
 
 
 1 / 9 ▶ USGS / HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Lava burned through thick vegetation below the pasture of the Pahoa cemetery Monday morning. ◀ 2 / 9 ▶ USGS / HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Click here to enlarge map. to enlarge map. ◀ 3 / 9 ▶ USGS / HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Late on Sunday afternoon, a barbed wire fence is overrun by lava from a flow lobe that crossed through the PÄhoa cemetery earlier in the day. To the far left in the distance, a plume of smoke marks the location of the flow lobe that passed southeast of the cemetery and through the pasture. ◀ 4 / 9 ▶ COURTESY HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY A Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist mapped the margin of the June 27 lava flow Sunday in the open field below Apaa Street. ◀ 5 / 9 ▶ MEGAN MOSELEY / MMOSELEY@STARADVERTISER.COM Ilyn Narciso and her family looked Sunday toward the haze from their house in Pahoa where lava threatens the smallHawaii island community. Narciso is preparing for a possible evacuation Tuesday. The notice came Saturday after the flow severed nearby Apaa Street. ◀ 6 / 9 ▶ MEGAN MOSELEY / MMOSELEY@STARADVERTISER.COM Pahoa resident Theresa Zen­de­jas held up an evacuation packet Sunday. Zen­de­jas has to prepare for a possible evacuation Tuesday as lava from Kilauea Volcano continues toward the town. ◀ 7 / 9 ▶ Daryl Lee / Special to the Star-Advertiser Hawaii County Officials went door to door on Laau Street in Pahoa issuing notifications on Saturday as the lava flow approached. ◀ 8 / 9 ▶ MEGAN MOSELEY / MMOSELEY@STARADVERTISER.COM A home is packed and ready for evacuation. ◀ 9 / 9 USGS / HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY Lava moved through the open field Sunday. 
 
 
 
 Hawaii County Civil Defense closed Pahoa Village Road Monday as a finger of lava threatens to overrun the main street of Pahoa town. 
 
 On Monday afternoon, Hawaii County Civil Defense reported the flow advanced 35 yards since 6:40 a.m. and was about 70 yards from the nearest home. 
 
 As of 4:30 p.m., according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists, the flow was 560 yards upslope from Pahoa Village Road, and the flow's width was about 55 yards at the leading edge. 
 
 About 40 households in the immediate downslope path of the lava were issued an evacuation advisory, but not an evacuation order, and urged to prepare to evacuate Sunday night. The Red Cross opened an emergency shelter at the Sure Foundation Church in Keaau. 
 
 Smoke conditions were light to moderate with tradewinds pushing the smoke south, county Civil Defense officials said. Residents with respiratory problems who live downwind of the flow were warned to take precautions and to remain indoors. 
 
 Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said officials went door-to-door last night and put residents on notice that an evacuation might be ordered in the next three days and maybe sooner. Most residents were understanding and receptive to the message, he said. 
 
 Many of them have found places to go or have already left on their own. 
 
 Apaa Street resident Imelda Raras said she and her husband are ready to go to a friend's home in another part of Puna if officials tell them to leave. 
 
 "We are still praying," she said. "I hope our home will be spared." 
 
 The couple in the home nearest to the lava have completed their packing and have taken their personal belongings out of their house, Oliveira said. They continue to go back and forth to their residents to salvage some plants. 
 
 Oliveira said the couple invited civil defense officials into their home Sunday and allowed them to go up to their second-story balcony where they have been watching the flow. 
 
 "They are disappointed but accepting," Oliveira said. 
 
 The owner of a small anthurium farm about 75- to 100-yards downslope of that residence has also been moving equipment and preparing for the lava flow, he said. 
 
 He estimated the lava could reach the house sometime Monday evening. 
 
 The closure, at 9:30 p.m., between Apaa Street and Post Office Road, limits use of the Pahoa Village Road to residents only. Others are being told to use the Highway 130 bypass. 
 
 Police said Pahoa Post Office Road is now a one-lane road for leaving Pahoa town and no parking is allowed on the road shoulder. Traffic entering the town is limited to the intersection of Route 132/Route 130 near Pahoa High School. 
 
 The rate of lava has been inconsistent, averaging 5 yards an hour. 
 
 Officials are worried that if lava crosses Highway 130, it will isolate Puna from the rest of the island. 
 
 "Puna will be divided into the north side of the flow and the south side of the flow," said state Sen. Russell Ruderman, D-Puna. "It's going to be a dividing line that didn't exist before." 
 
 Raras said they began putting their belongings in storage in September. What they aren't able to take with them, such as furniture, they're photographing for insurance purposes. 
 
 Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists said the flow's rate varied from between 11 to 16 yards an hour until about 3 a.m. Monday, when the flow slowed as it began to widen to about 110 yards wide from about 50 yards wide. 
 
 From about 2:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m., the advance slowed to 2.2 yards an hour, scientists said. 
 
 It moved about 130 yards from 4:30 p.m. Sunday until 7:30 a.m. Monday. 
 
 The front is approaching steeper terrain and is expected to speed up Monday afternoon. 
 
 The leading edge of the lava flow split into two fingers Sunday, with one finger, to the north, moving down a steeper slope, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists said. The faster lava finger moved through the Pahoa cemetery grounds near the northeast end of a pasture. 
 
 The other finger reached slightly steeper terrain in the pasture, just south of the cemetery Sunday afternoon and was expected to rejoin the other lava finger. 
 
 Another larger lobe farther upslope, just above Apaa Street, advanced about 55 yards since Saturday. 
 
 Civil Defense issued an evacuation notice for area residents Saturday. Not all of them are in the path of the lava but may be at risk to secondary hazards of fire, smoke and methane explosions. 
 
 Oliveira said officials will operate like they have in the past in allowing the affected residents to view the destruction of their homes if conditions allow it. 
 
 Apaa Street, where lava crossed early Saturday morning, and Cemetery Road remain closed. 
 
 ____ 
 
 The Associated Press contributed to this story.
– With lava now just yards away, residents of Hawaii's Big Island can only watch helplessly as the unstoppable flow of molten rock destroys their homes—but at least the state is letting them do that. Officials say that arrangements will be made for people who live in the path of the flow from the Kilauea volcano to witness the destruction, reports the AP. "This will provide for a means of closure," a Hawaii County civil defense official says. "You can only imagine the frustration as well as ... despair they're going through." The 110-yard-wide flow of lava was only 70 yards from the nearest homes in Pahoa village as of Monday afternoon; around 40 households in its path have been advised to evacuate, reports the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Most have already left, and the "disappointed but accepting" couple whose home is nearest the flow have finished removing their belongings, officials say. As the flow crawls forward, civil defense crews are rushing to build access roads to prevent thousands of people in the Puna district from becoming "lava-locked" as roads are cut off, Reuters reports.