HILO — Vacationland is gone.

That was the message Wednesday morning from Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for Mayor Harry Kim. She said that lava from Kilauea volcano had completely covered the subdivision in Kapoho and at last report, just a small portion of Kapoho Beach Lots remained. Lava continues to pour into the ocean, enlarging the delta at the former Kapoho Bay site.

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Snyder said the official tally of homes last is at 130, but noted that does not count the homes lost at Kapoho, since those have to be verified by drone overflight and comparison with tax department maps, and that hundreds more still need to be counted.

Snyder quoted Kim, who had a second home in Vacationland, as saying, “Hundreds of homes and a lifestyle is gone.”

Fissure no. 8 is the only one currently active, but walls of a perched pond from the fissure are expected to break and send more lava oozing toward the ocean.

According to Snyder, a number of drone operators have been cited for violating the temporary flight restriction area over lava flows.

Snyder also noted that Gov. David Ige’s second emergency proclamation, which eased permitting regulations to help with the building of temporary housing for lava evacuees, also made it a full misdemeanor to interfere with emergency personnel of any type, not just law enforcement authorities.

Ige is coming to Hilo Thursday to meet with Kim, Snyder said, and the main focus will be on fast-tracking temporary housing.

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According to Snyder, Kim said, “Things that took weeks and months to get done in the past has now taken days.”

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com</s>KAILUA-KONA — Lava, fed by Fissure 8 on the lower East Rift Zone, continues to fill Kapoho Bay.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that vigorous lava eruptions continue in the lower East Rift Zone, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense. Fissure 8 is very active and producing a large channelized flow that has filled in Kapoho Bay. The ocean entry is sending a large laze plume into the air along the coastline.

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Late Tuesday, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said persistent lava fountaining at Fissure 8 was reaching heights of 150 feet to 180 feet. No other fissure vents were active, HVO said.

Because of the ongoing volcanic activity, Government Beach Road, between Kahakai Boulevard and Cinder Road, is open to Waa Waa and Papaya Farms Road with access to residents only with official credentials. There is no curfew.

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Overnight Monday and Tuesday, A wide and fast lava flow from Kilauea volcano’s fissure No. 8 wiped out hundreds of homes in Kapoho and obliterated Kapoho Bay, replacing it with a nearly mile-long delta of lava rock.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said the official count of destroyed homes since May 3 has not risen from the tally of 117 announced earlier this week. However, it was clear Monday that the vast majority of the approximately 500 homes in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland are gone.</s>Hawaii's Kilauea volcano claimed its latest victim, the picturesque Kapoho Bay as it filled the bay with molten lava flows. Overnight, hundreds of homes were destroyed as rivers of lava poured into oceanfront communities.

Just a few days ago Kapoho Bay was a beautiful vacation destination, filled with vacation homes, beautiful beaches and clear water. Today, the bay is filled with a lava field that extends 0.8 miles from the old bay, completely reshaping the coastline of Hawaii.

The recent lava flows are the most destructive since Kilauea volcano began to profusely erupt over a month ago. Early on in the eruption, Leilani Estates and the Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions were destroyed by lava flows and volcanic bombs of rock and ash.

With the recent lava flows in Kapoho Bay, Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots are now largely destroyed. Officials with the Hawaii County Civil Defense said that likely most of the homes have been destroyed of the nearly 500 in the two communities. Of the destroyed homes in Mayor Harry Kim's second vacation home in Vacationland.

Aerial videos show the lava flow hitting the Pacific Ocean as it turns into plumes of toxic hydrochloric acid steam and glass fragments, called laze. As waves enter the bay, they are cracking and jostling the lava, which lithifies on contact with the relatively cold ocean water.

The lava running into Kapoho Bay is being fed by channelized flow from fissure 8 according to the USGS. The rivers of lava accompany 150 to 180 feet high lava fountains fed by fissure 8.

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake struck the island on Tuesday morning, the latest jolt associated with the eruptions. According to the USGS, the big island of Hawaii has been hit by 9,900 earthquakes since May 4th. In addition, the lava completely evaporated and filled Green Lake, the largest freshwater lake on the island in a matter of hours.

As hundreds of homes are destroyed by lava flows and families are displaced, Hawaii is forced to manage a difficult situation. Where will the people live whose homes were destroyed and now lies a barren lava field? Do they still own the fee simple lease on the land? Can they ever move back?

There aren't clear answers to these questions yet, but likely many of the families will have to resettle either elsewhere on the island or move off the island. In addition, the government of Hawaii must now decide what to do with newly created land, something no other state has to manage.

The latest string of lava flows, destroyed homes, and reshaped coastline reminds us that Hawaii is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Those that live on the island are merely Pele's tenants and eviction requires no forewarning.</s>PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - A growing river of molten rock flowing from a fissure at the foot of Kilauea Volcano is believed to have demolished scores of additional homes and filled in a small bay at the eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island, civil defense officials said on Tuesday.

The latest estimates — up to 80 more structures than previously counted as destroyed by lava smothering two newly evacuated subdivisions — could bring the total number of homes and other buildings lost over the past month to nearly 200.

Such a tally would put property losses from the current upheaval of Kilauea, which entered its 34th day on Tuesday, on par with 215 structures destroyed by lava during all 35 years of the volcano’s last eruption cycle, which began in 1983.

On Monday, the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency was putting the confirmed number of buildings lost to the current eruption at 117, mostly residential properties. About 80 of those were destroyed in the Leilani Estates community, where lava-spouting fissures in the ground first opened on May 3 downhill from the volcano’s eastern flank.

Another three-dozen homes were confirmed destroyed this past weekend when a large lava stream creeping 6 miles (9.7 km) across the landscape reached the far eastern edge of the Big Island, pouring into the ocean at a place called Kapoho Bay.

On Tuesday, a civil defense official told Reuters that at least 60 to 80 more homes were believed to have been devoured as the lava flow, measuring about a half-mile (80-meter) wide and 10 to 15 feet (3 to 4.6 meter) tall, inundated the adjacent subdivisions of Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland.

The official said aerial surveillance of the area showed only the northern portion of Kapoho Beach and the southernmost “sliver” of Vacationland — the latter consisting of only about a half-dozen homes — were left unscathed.

Vivian Mark, a resident of Hilo who owns a beachfront vacation rental in Vacationland and is president of the Vacationland Hawaii Community Association, said Vacationland consisted of 240 housing lots and nearly 90 farm lots, but she was unsure how many of those had properties built on them.

Video footage from a helicopter flying over the area showed two seaside homes engulfed in flames, as clouds of white steam and hydrochloric acid fumes billowed from the water where red-hot lava was pouring into the ocean.

Civil defense officials said Kapoho Bay itself had been filled in with lava that extended seven-tenths of a mile (1.1 km) from what had been the shoreline.

“What used to be the bay is now all lava bed, new land, almost a mile (1.6 km) out into the ocean,” the civil defense spokesman told Reuters.

Authorities began evacuating the greater Kapoho area last week and ushered most of the last remaining residents to safety early on Saturday, hours before the lava flow severed all road access to the region. Several holdouts were airlifted by helicopter on Sunday, leaving no more than a handful of people who refused to leave, officials said.

The lava inundating Kapoho is emanating from Fissure 8, the only volcanic vent that was still belching large volumes of molten rock from the ground as of Tuesday, officials said.</s>HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaii County spokeswoman says lava from the erupting Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes overnight.

Janet Snyder said Tuesday there’s not an exact count, but hundreds of homes were lost Monday night in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland.

County Managing Director Wil Okabe says his vacation home in Kapoho Beach Lots is also threatened.

Most area residents have already evacuated.

Okabe describes the area as a mix of vacation rentals and year-round residences.

Scientists say a morning overflight confirms that lava has completely filled Kapoho Bay. Lava has inundated most of Vacationland and has covered all but the northern part of Kapoho Beach Lots.

Lava has been flowing from fissures that broke out in neighborhoods last month.</s>The molten lava on the island of Hawaii has destroyed what officials said may be hundreds of homes, including a vacation home of the island’s mayor, Harry Kim, as a spewing vent has sent a wide, slow-moving river of lava into a residential community and the sea beyond it on the island’s east side.

The lava flow, which has destroyed homes in the community of Kapoho and filled in an ocean bay known for snorkeling and tidal pools, is coming from a nearby fissure, which has spouted a fountain of lava that has reached as high as 250 feet in recent days. Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County, said that officials believed that hundreds of homes in the Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland areas had been destroyed overnight, adding to a confirmed toll of 117 homes from Monday.

“Nobody knows what comes next as far as the lava goes,” Snyder told The Washington Post.

Photos show the lava’s recent advance across the lush countryside and into the housing subdivision and bay. The molten rock has formed a new delta in the ocean after extending at least seven-tenths of a mile out, officials said. The bay is nearly completely filled in with lava, according to The Associated Press.

Officials warned residents about the presence of laze, a potentially dangerous mix of hydrochloric acid, steam and tiny glass particles in the air.

Carolyn Boudreault, a Kapoho resident who is currently staying in Boston with her family, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the bay was a treasured place. “It’s a beautiful spot,” she said Monday. “Gorgeous.”

Hawaii officials told the news outlet that the community was made up primarily of vacation homes.

There have been 9,900 earthquakes on the island since May 4 as a result of the geological activity, the USGS said, including about 500 near Kilauea’s summit over the weekend, according to CNN.

The lava flow has covered about 7.7 square miles of the island, according to the USGS.</s>Lava from the Kilauea volcano has destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii, a county spokeswoman says.

The destruction is the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month.

No injuries were reported in the area, which had previously been evacuated.

"We don't have an estimate yet, but safe to say that hundreds of homes were lost in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland last night," said Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County.

A morning flyover 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 US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

Lava destroyed Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's second home in Vacationland, Ms Snyder said.

County managing director Wil Okabe said his own holiday home in Kapoho Beach Lots was also threatened.

Mr Okabe said the area was a mix of holiday rentals and year-round residences.

"For us it's more of a vacation area, but for those who live there permanently, they're trying to figure out where they're going to be living," he said.

Thousands in the eastern district of Puna had to evacuate after lava fissures started opening in neighbourhoods a month ago.

Officials had issued mandatory orders for residents of Leilani Estates and those in Kapoho Beach and Vacationland to leave by last Friday or risk being trapped and unreachable by emergency crews.</s>A slow-moving flood of lava as a result of a volcanic eruption in Hawaii destroyed hundreds of additional homes overnight, and it overtook two oceanfront communities, including Kapoho Bay, according to NBC News . No injuries were reported in the damage caused by the lava flowing from the Kilauea volcano.

“We don't have an estimate yet, but safe to say that hundreds of homes were lost in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland last night,” Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County, told NBC News on Tuesday .

By Tuesday morning, lava had completely filled the bay, where vacationers had enjoyed tide pools, snorkeling, and picnics, Hawaii News Now reported . The lava has already destroyed hundreds of homes on the Big Island, and more than a thousand people have been forced to evacuate their homes, according to PBS Newshour .

“It's incredibly saddening,” Jason Hills, who visits Kapoho Bay yearly, told Hawaii News Now . “Kapoho Bay was just a little calm water gem where people could play, swim, hang out in the tide pools. It was green and beautiful, great trade winds, and now it's just a big hunk of lava rock.”

The Hawaii Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Mango told CNN that hundreds of homes on Kapoho Bay alone have been affected, the majority of which are believed to be vacation homes.

“For us it's more of a vacation area, but for those who live there permanently, they're trying to figure out where they're going to be living,” County Managing Director Wil Okabe told NBC News.

The lava flow has extended 0.8 miles from the shore, and shelters began completely filling up on Tuesday.

“It's a slow-moving flood. Nothing stops it and the direction it goes,” Magno told CNN . “It continues its march to the ocean.”

Harry Pomerleau, one of the people whose homes were claimed by lava on Tuesday, told NBC News the lava flow was “a necessary evil.”

“It's not our land. It belongs to Pele,” he said, referring to the Hawaiian volcano goddess . “I have to imagine she knows what she's doing.”

Across social media, vacationers and locals have been sharing their sadness and fear as a result of the volcanic explosion.

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Want more from Teen Vogue ? Check this out: Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupted, Forcing 1,500 Residents to Evacuate Homes</s>HONOLULU (CBSLA/CBS News/AP) — Lava from the erupting Kilauea volcano destroyed “hundreds” of homes overnight, including a house belonging to the Big Island’s mayor, according to a Hawaii County spokeswoman.

Janet Snyder said Tuesday that hundreds of homes were lost Monday night in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland. CBS News correspondent Carter Evans reported Tuesday morning that approximately 150 homes have been lost since the eruption began.

Snyder said it was difficult to count homes in that area from the air because of steam produced from lava entering the ocean.

Lava destroyed Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim’s second home in Vacationland. County Managing Director Wil Okabe says his vacation home in Kapoho Beach Lots is also threatened.

Most area residents have already evacuated. Thousands in the Puna district left after lava fissures started opening in neighborhoods a month ago.

Evans reports the cascade into Kapoho Bay is releasing toxic steam mixed with tiny particles of glass. It’s the second time lava has hit the ocean since the crisis began.

Scientists said a laze plume was blowing inland from the ocean entry but dissipating quickly. Laze is formed when hot lava hits the ocean, reacts with sea water and sends hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles in the air.

Officials warned the public to stay away from the plume because it can irritate skin and eyes and make it difficult to breathe.</s>Lava from the Kilauea volcano destroyed hundreds of homes in a mostly rural area on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight, a county spokeswoman said Tuesday. The destruction is the largest number of destroyed homes since the eruption began last month.

No injuries were reported in the area, which had previously been evacuated.

"We don't have an estimate yet, but safe to say that hundreds of homes were lost in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland last night," said Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County.

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.

Lava early Tuesday destroyed Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's second home in Vacationland, Snyder said.

County Managing Director Wil Okabe said his own vacation home in Kapoho Beach Lots was also threatened. Okabe described the area as a mix of vacation rentals and year-round residences.

"For us it's more of a vacation area, but for those who live there permanently, they're trying to figure out where they're going to be living," he said.

"He was very depressed," Okabe said of how Kim felt about losing his vacation home. Kim and Okabe live in Hilo, the county's seat, which is more than an hour drive from the Kapoho area.

Thousands in the Puna area had to evacuate after lava fissures started opening in neighborhoods a month ago. Officials had issued mandatory orders for residents of Leilani Estates and those in Kapoho Beach and Vacationland to leave by last Friday or risk being trapped and unreachable by emergency crews.

Homes in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland are on smaller lots and are closer together than in other parts of the Puna district. Okabe estimated there are several hundred homes in each of the two subdivisions.

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A lava flow destroys at least 130 homes in the Vacationland Hawaii and Kapoho Beach Lots neighborhoods. Officials reported Vacationland Hawaii to be completely destroyed, while nearby Kapoho Bay has been filled with lava.