Hawaii volcano anniversary

A year after a volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island rained lava and gases in one of its largest and most destructive eruptions in recorded history, people who lost their homes and farms in the disaster are still struggling to return to their cherished island lifestyle.

Section:Gallery

Fri., May 3, 2019

On Tuesday, April 23, 2019, with a now-dormant towering cinder cone looming in the background, Mark and Jennifer Bishop stand on the deck of their home near Pahoa, Hawaii, which was spared by the lava. The epicenter of the 2018 eruption – one of more than 20 places where the ground split open and released massive explosions of molten rock – is now in their front yard. The red-hot fluid oozed onto their property and stopped about 20 feet from the home. Theirs is now the last house on the street.

Marco Garcia Associated Press
A surfer walks on a newly formed black sand beach below Kilauea volcano near Kapoho, Hawaii. on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. The beach was created as lava from the 2018 Kilauea eruption entered the ocean, broke apart and churned through the water. Before the eruption, the shoreline was about 100 yards inland from where it is now.

Marco Garcia Associated Press
A now-dormant towering cinder cone looms in the background Tuesday, April 23, 2019, as Mark and Jennifer Bishop walk in the yard of their home near Pahoa, Hawaii, which was spared by the lava. The epicenter of the 2018 eruption – one of more than 20 places where the ground split open and released massive explosions of molten rock – is now in their front yard.

Marco Garcia Associated Press
Leilani Estates resident Mark Figley stands in front his home near Pahoa, Hawaii, on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. While his home was spared by the Kilauea eruption, noxious volcanic gases have made it unlivable. The home on the edge of a lava flow remains vacant as Figley settles into his new Big Island home, a little farther away from Kilauea volcano.

Marco Garcia Associated Press
Big Island Mayor Harry Kim holds a photo taken from his home that was destroyed during the 2018 Kilauea volcano eruption, at his office Wednesday, April 24, 2019, in Hilo, Hawaii. The longtime mayor says many outsiders question why anyone would want to live on the side of an active volcano. “This is and was a very beautiful place to live. It was special,” Kim said. “It’s not just a home, it’s a lifestyle here.”

Caleb Jones Associated Press
A photo from the U.S. Geological Survey on Saturday, May 19, 2018, shows lava flowing from fissures near Pahoa, Hawaii. A year after a Hawaii volcano rained lava and gases on a rural swath of the Big Island in one of its largest eruptions in recorded history, people who lost their homes and farms in the disaster are still struggling to return to their island lifestyle. More than 700 homes were destroyed in the historic eruption, and most people will never move back to their land.
Lava from the 2018 Kilauea eruption crosses Highway 137 near Kapoho, Hawaii, on Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Some of the roads in the affected area have been recently cleared but much of the region is still covered by lava rock. It’s been a year since a Hawaii volcano rained lava and gases on a rural swath of the Big Island in one of its largest and most destructive eruptions in recorded history.

Marco Garcia Associated Press
Leilani Estates resident Mark Figley stands Tuesday, April 23, 2019, in front of the 2018 Kilauea eruption that stopped short of overtaking his home near Pahoa, Hawaii. While his home was spared by the eruption, noxious volcanic gases have made it unlivable. So, for now, the home on the edge of a lava flow remains vacant as Figley settles into his new Big Island home, a little farther away from Kilauea volcano.

Marco Garcia Associated Press
Lava from the Kilauea volcano flows near the Puna Geothermal Venture power plant on Sunday, June 10, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii.

L.E. Baskow Associated Press
Most of the Kapoho area including the tide pools is now covered in fresh lava with few properties still intact as the Kilauea Volcano lower east rift zone eruption continues on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii.

Le Baskow Associated Press
Lava from the Kilauea volcano flows in and around Pahoa, Hawaii, on Sunday, June 10, 2018.

L.E. Baskow Associated Press
This photo provided by U.S. Geological Survey shows an aerial view of ocean entry at Kapoho Bay, Hawaii on Tuesday, June 5, 2018. Lava destroyed hundreds of homes in mostly rural Hawaii area overnight, a county spokeswoman said Tuesday. A morning overflight confirmed that lava completely filled Kapoho Bay, inundated most of Vacationland and covered all but the northern part of Kapoho Beach Lots, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.