This news story will be updated throughout the day as new information becomes available and new articles will be added to the website’s “News” section. Previous information about ongoing events can be found in Big Island Now’s “Volcano Blog” section.

KĪLAUEA SUMMIT LIVESTREAM LINK

CLICK HERE FOR INTERACTIVE LAVA MAP FOR JULY 11, 2018

Thursday, July 12, 2018, 4 p.m: Collapse May Cause Surge in Lava Channel

SPONSORED VIDEO

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Fissure 8 continues to erupt lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent toward Kapoho. A collapse/explosion event occurred at Halemaumau Crater at 2:42 p.m. with energy equal to a 5.3 magnitude earthquake. Previous collapse/explosion events have generated a surge of lava in the lower east rift zone about two hours after the collapse which resulted in spillovers of the channel.

The following policies remain in effect:

Be aware that spill overs of the flow channel and other breakouts are possible on the active flow field, do not access the active flow field due to extreme hazard.

Residents are advised to check their utility connections of electricity, water and gas after earthquakes.

Disaster assistance is available island-wide to individuals and businesses in Hawai‘i County that have been affected by the Kīlauea eruption.

The Disaster Recovery Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends, and is located at the Kea‘au High School Gym. If you need a ride, buses run between the two shelters and the Disaster Recovery Center.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thursday, July 12, 2018, 3 p.m: No Tsunami Threat Due to Collapse at Crater

Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory reports a collapse/explosive event with energy equal to a 5.3 magnitude earthquake has occurred at Halema‘uma‘u Crater at 2:42 p.m..

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports there is no Tsunami Threat to the Island of Hawai‘i.

Due to the volcanic activity, the following is provided for your awareness:

Residents in the area affected by earthquakes are advised to monitor utility connections of gas, electricity, and water after earthquakes.

When driving be on the lookout for cracks in roadways.

If ash is observed stay indoors or seek cover.

Again, there is No Tsunami Threat to the island of Hawai‘i.

AN SEISMIC EVENT HAS OCCURRED NEAR THE SUMMIT OF KILAUEA VOLCANO.

THE EVENT IS LIKELY ASSOCIATED WITH A SUMMIT ERUPTION.

ITS PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS ARE

ORIGIN TIME – 0242 PM HST 12 JUL 2018

COORDINATES – 19.4 NORTH 155.3 WEST

LOCATION – IN THE SUMMIT REGION OF KILAUEA VOLCANO

MAGNITUDE – 5.3

Again, there is No Tsunami Threat to the island of Hawai‘i.

Thursday, July 12, 2018, 6 a.m.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Fissure 8 continues to erupt lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent toward Kapoho.

An overflight this morning has confirmed that Ahalanui Park and Kua O Ka La School have been covered by lava.

The following policies remain in effect:

Be aware that spill overs of the flow channel and other breakouts are possible on the active flow field, do not access the active flow field due to extreme hazard.

Disaster assistance is available island-wide to individuals and businesses in Hawaii County that have been affected by the Kilauea eruption.</s>An overflight this morning of the lava flow from fissure 8 on Hawaii island confirmed that the Kua O Ka La Public Charter School and Ahalanui Park have been covered by lava, according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials.

An overflight this morning of the lava flow from fissure 8 on Hawaii island confirmed that the Kua O Ka La Public Charter School and Ahalanui Park have been covered by lava, according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials.

Fissure 8 also continues to pump lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent toward Kapoho. Spillovers from the channel and other breakouts are possible on the active flow field, according to the HVO, which warns people to stay away from the active flow field due to “extreme hazard.”

The Disaster Recovery Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends and is located at the Keaau High School Gym.</s>And Kua O Ka La School has launched a online fundraising to raise money to pay for relocation expenses – with a vow to keep holding classes at alternative locations.

Teachers and children had hoped the lava flow would miss their school.

However, a statement issued by the County of Hawaii said: “Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports that Fissure 8 continues to erupt lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent toward Kapoho.

“An overflight this morning has confirned that Ahalanui Park and Kua O Ka La School have been covered by lava.</s>There is still no end in sight for the Kilauea eruption entering its 10th week as fissure 8 continues pumping lava into a channel leading to the ocean at Kapoho.

There is still no end in sight for the Kilauea eruption entering its 10th week as fissure 8 continues pumping lava into a channel leading to the ocean at Kapoho.

Hawaii County Civil Defense reported early Tuesday morning that the flow had split north and south, and expanded upslope of “Four Corners,” which remains closed, along with Kapoho Beach Lots. Late Tuesday afternoon the lava continued to enter into the channel leading northeast from the vent, while an overflow lobe continued to move around the west side of Kapoho Cone, creating small brush fires along the margins.

Seven hundred homes have been destroyed, according to Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for Hawaii County, which is counting properties where tax records match aerial surveys.

At the shoreline the lava continued to approach Ahalanui Beach Park, also known as the warm ponds, and was about 1,500 feet away from Kua o ka La Public Charter School, which was evacuated in May, according to Snyder.

Susie Osborne, co-founder of the school, is determined to keep it open for about 200 students, and has committed to relocating the classes to Hilo for the next school year, which begins in August.

With access cut off, students at the school had to finish their last 10 days at temporary locations in Hilo in late May. Now, with the lava flow closing in, it is uncertain whether students will ever be able to return to the campus.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the school with its relocation efforts.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, meanwhile, captured footage of lava oozing from a small breakout that is an overflow from the fissure 8 lava channel. The footage is posted to the @USGSVolcanoes Twitter feed.

The Kilauea eruption is also destroying two important populations of Hawaii’s endangered plants — the Nanawale haiwale (Cyrtandra nanawaleensis) and Hilo Ischaemum (Ischaemum byrone) — within the Malama Ki Forest Reserve and surrounding areas, according to state officials.

The 1,514-acre forest reserve and surrounding areas were buried under acres of lava or scorched by fumes of sulphur dioxide in June, killing the two largest known populations of these endangered plants, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said.

The Nanawale haiwale is a shrub in the African violet family, found only in the lowland wet forests of Puna. Before the eruption only 200 mature plants existed in the wild, representing more than a third of the known existing plants in Hawaii. They were lost to lava flows.

Hilo Ischaemum is a native grass found in coastal areas on several islands but mostly along the coast between Hilo and Puna. An estimated few thousand plants remain in the wild. Several of the known sites between Kapoho and Opihikao are now covered with fresh lava.

As the eruption continues, state Division of Forestry and Wildlife staff are preparing to salvage specimens from other sites to ensure the species is not lost to extinction. The forest reserve was not only home to Hawaii’s native plants, but served as a habitat to subpopulations of native forest birds.

An eruption update meeting was held Tuesday night at the Pahoa High School cafeteria. The Disaster Recovery Center, meanwhile, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends at the Keaau High School gym.</s>The Prince William County school division is again considering an existing park as a possible home for a new elementary school.

The school division caused a stir in early 2016 when it proposed building a new elementary school on existing parkland adjacent to the Chinn Aquatics and Fitness Center in Lake Ridge.

Following an outcry from local residents, the school division shifted the school site to privately owned land in the same area along Prince William Parkway.

That school is now under construction and will become the county’s 61st elementary school when it opens in fall 2019.

The ever-growing school division remains in need of several school sites, however, and is now considering two parcels in the area of Rosemount Lewis Neighborhood Park, located near the intersection of Crestwood Drive and Ashton Avenue in the Manassas area of Prince William County. The park is set back in the trees amid a neighborhood of older townhomes behind Manassas Mall.

The school division recently posted a notice to its website about a Thursday, July 19, meeting about the proposed school site, which will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Stonewall Jackson High School, 8820 Rixlew Lane.

The park had been suggested as a school site as early as 2010, when the school division needed more classroom space in the Sudley Road corridor.

But at that time, plans to use the park for a new school were shelved when it was decided to build additions onto Sinclair, Sudley, West Gate, Loch Lomond and Mullen elementary schools instead, said Maureen Hannan, the school division’s supervisor of land acquisition and capital improvement planning.

Now, however, at least two of those schools are already overcapacity and more classroom space is needed, which prompted the school division to once again consider using Rosemount Lewis park, Hannan said.

The meeting is a chance to discuss the idea publicly and give the community a chance to weigh in, Hannan said.

“We’re kind of gauging the reaction from the community before we move forward with it,” Hannan said.

The school is primarily needed to relieve overcrowding at Mullen Elementary, which was about 50 students overcapacity last September, and Ellis Elementary, which was 84 students overcapacity last year. Both schools are estimated to be even more overcrowded in 10 years, Hannan said.

The school division is considering a 924-student school to be built on two adjacent parcels, one 22 acres, the other 5 acres.

The idea is to make the site more usable to the community by adding not only the new elementary school but also new playgrounds and playing fields that would be available to area residents on nights and weekends and to the Prince William County Department of Parks and Recreation for youth sports.

The park is now accessible only by a two-rut gravel road, which is cordoned off with a metal gate.

There is no parking other than street parking at the end of the Crestwood Drive cul-de-sac, a side road that dead ends between two neighborhoods of older townhomes. Crestwood Drive was choked with parked cars on a recent Sunday afternoon, allowing area residents to access the park only by foot.

Daymon Wright was leaving the park with his two sons Sunday, July 8, and said he hadn’t heard of the proposal to use the park as a school site.

Wright was carrying baseball gear and said he and his sons use the park’s fields and playground. The park also has tennis courts, he said.

“This wouldn’t be a bad site for a school and it would save [the county] a lot of money,” Wright said, adding that area residents would likely appreciate a new school for their children.

“Still, I’d hate to see all the trees go,” he added.

Rosemount Lewis park was originally part of the “Rosemount Farm.” The land was proffered to the county in 1985 and named the Rosemount Lewis Regional Park in 1989 after a member of Lewis family.

The Lewises worked the farm, and a descendant petitioned the county to include the family’s name in that of the new park, according to information shared by Supervisor Jeanine Lawson’s office.

Lawson represents the Brentsville District, which includes the park. The county would have to transfer ownership of the parkland to the school division for the new school to move forward.

Lawson (R) said the idea to build a new school on the park site was brought to her attention several months ago. She said she supports the idea in part because the park seems underutilized in its current state.

“I quickly concluded that they need a school site over there, and the park has just been sitting there, really underutilized,” Lawson said. “This is a great and easy fix for the school system at little to no cost.”</s>The years seem to pick up speed as your child gets older. One minute they are getting on the bus for kindergarten and, in the blink of an eye, they are walking across the stage at their high school graduation. Don’t let those years go by in a blur. Capture the first day of school with a tradition the kids will look forward to every year.
• Drive to your local high school a few days before school starts. Capture a picture of your child standing by the marquee or in front of the building near the front door. You can also catch picture of your child gazing up at the school while wearing his back pack. Taken every year, this makes a great collage of photos to display at their high school graduation party.
• Every year before school starts, purchase a Time magazine and a People Have him pose with the covers to show what was in the news that year.
• Buy a t-shirt from the high school spirit store in an adult size. Take a picture of the child wearing the shirt with her backpack on the ground next to her. It is a great way to show how she and her choice of backpacks change over the years.
• The night before school starts, bake a round loaf of bread and place a clean penny in the dough before it bakes. Before dinner, have all the kids hold on to a piece of the bread and break it off. The one that gets the penny will have extra good luck this year at school.
• Start the day off right with a special breakfast. Choose a traditional breakfast of eggs and toast, whip up a smoothie for a light and healthy meal or lighten the mood with something silly like cookie cutter pancakes with whipped cream.
• Shop with your child before school starts and let him choose a special back to school lunch. Go beyond the sandwich to find yogurt parfaits, fruit pizza or ham and cheese kabobs. Don’t forget a note from mom and a Hershey’s kiss.
• When you child comes home from school, he will want to tell you all about his teacher, his classes and his day. Prepare a special after school snack like an ice cream sundae bar or colorful fruit trifle.
• On the first day of school, measure your child from head to toe with a piece of string cut to his height. Put the string in an envelope and mark it with the date. At the end of the year, measure him again and see how much he grew this year.
• Plant a tree in celebration of your child starting kindergarten. Every year, take a picture of your child in front of the tree and watch them both grow.
• Make concrete stepping stones with your child’s foot print and the date. Let you child decorate and add the stones to your yard to create a wonderful memory garden.
• Have a back to school bash. This is a great way to reconnect with all the kids you did not get to see over the summer. Rent a large slip and slide or a bounce castle, cook up some hot dogs and pass out the popsicles. Enjoy one last hoorah before school starts.
• Your teens and tweens will be happy with an evening bonfire to mourn the end of summer. Bring out the speakers and let them plug in their own music. Provide a fire, plenty of snacks and enough seating for everyone.
• Don’t forget a party for the moms. A first day of school potluck breakfast is a great opportunity for the moms to celebrate the return to routine.

Pam Molnar is a freelance writer and mother of three. This is her 15th new school year as a parent.</s>After weeks of steadily flowing to the ocean in a self-contained channel, lava from fissure 8 began spilling over into Leilani Estates, destroying more homes in the subdivision, according to Hawaii County officials.

After weeks of steadily flowing to the ocean in a self-contained channel, lava from fissure 8 began spilling over into Leilani Estates, destroying more homes in the subdivision, according to Hawaii County officials.

Hawaii Civil Defense said Wednesday afternoon that three homes were destroyed by breakouts that occurred Wednesday, but the breakouts have since stalled.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported earlier that two of the consumed homes were on Luana Street, while a home on Nohea Street was being threatened.

At least 700 homes across several subdivisions have been destroyed since Kilauea began erupting along the lower East Rift Zone on May 3.

Lava from fissure 8 has been feeding a fast-moving flow heading northeast to the ocean at Kapoho. A flow moving around the west side of Kapoho Cone has proceeded to within a quarter-mile of the coast, HVO said.

Meanwhile, the Disaster Recovery Center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends at the Keaau High School Gym.</s>SPARTA, Ill. (AP) — A park has opened in southern Illinois honoring a segregated school's history in the community.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Saturday to commemorate the Sparta park built on the lot where Vernon School opened its doors for kindergarten to eighth grade students in 1912, The Southern Illinoisan reported.

The school served the black community until the early 1960s when the city's K-8 school system fully integrated. The building was torn down in the 1990s. Since the early 2000s, a group of community organizers and Vernon School graduates have been trying to acquire the lot, which had been under city control.

Bobby Klausing, Sparta's commissioner of public property, decided to take action in creating the park last year after the City Council was questioned about why it had taken nearly three years to get playground equipment installed at the site.

Klausing and about 20 to 30 community members installed the equipment in September. The park has been open to the public since October.

"We got it in quick," he said. "They deserved it."

Margaret Anderson, now nearly 90, has been a leader in acquiring the property. She said that while segregation was a dark time, it's important to remember it and the park is a step toward preserving the history of her community.

Judge Richard Brown said Saturday that he's thankful that "there is no need for the Vernon School any longer." He said he thinks of the matter often as he helps deliver justice for the residents of Randolph County.</s>Kilauea has been erupting continuously since May 3, when a series of earthquakes resulted in a powerful expulsion of lava. Earthquakes continue to rock the summit, with the draining lava resulting in subsidence inside the volcano. United States Geological Survey spokesman Steve Brantley told residents: “At the summit, the volcano continues to subside very slowly over time and periodically, now once about every 30 hours or almost every day, the ground drops as much as 2.5m. "Each drop results in a ground shaking that’s equivalent to about a magnitude 5 event.” Fissure 8 remains the most active, with lava pouring out into a channel constantly flowing across the island.

However, fissure 20 has also reactivated, spewing lava into the air and toward the ocean. Fissures are cracks in the earth’s surface which are created when lava from an erupting volcano forces its way up towards land. Mr Brantley added: "A high rate of lava is still being erupted and we really haven’t noticed a change in that rate. "The lava is pouring into the open channel that makes it’s way to the northeast and makes a sharp right-hand turn on the east side of Kapoho crater.

"A little over a week ago, the open channel that was pouring into the ocean began to recede such that the distal portion of that lava flow was being covered over with a cooled surface. "Instead the lava was moving through the core of that flow and entering the ocean in a very broad area." At 4pm Wednesday local time (3am Thursday BST), The Hawaii Civil Defense issued a warning for residents. This Civil Defence Message reported: “Fissure 8 continues to erupt lava into the perched channel heading northeast from the vent. “A flow moving around the west side of Kapoho Cone has proceeded to a quarter of a mile to the coast.

“Break outs are occurring from the main channel in Leilani Estates. "The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that two homes on Luana Street have been destroyed by the break out and one home on Nohea Street is threatened.” The latest official number of houses destroyed in Lower Puna was 700 - a figure which continues to rise as the volcano erupts. The USGS said lava has covered more than 6,100 acres across Big Island, with a channel continuously pouring into the ocean.</s>Last Sunday morning, a group of 10 students and five adults embarked on a short but event-filled trip to Menlo Park’s Japanese friendship city, Bizen, located in Okayama Prefecture west of Osaka.

The 10 students were chosen to participate following an essay contest organized by Menlo Park’s Sister City Committee this past spring. They attend Hillview Middle School, La Entrada Middle School, Menlo School, Ravenswood Middle School and Menlo-Atherton High School.

As part of Menlo Park’s Sister City Program, the city has maintained a friendship relationship with Bizen since 2015 and conducts annual alternating student exchanges between the two cities. A delegation from Bizen visited Menlo Park in 2015 and 2017 hosted by local families, and Menlo Park students traveled to Bizen in 2016 and this week for a cultural exchange aimed at enhancing the economic opportunities and friendship between the two cities.

For many, this is the trip of a lifetime, and a chance to experience authentic Japanese cuisine and culture firsthand while staying with host families, visiting local schools and learning about the different governmental systems. The group plans to visit the Bizen City Hall, several museums, a soy sauce factory, the famous Imbe Pottery Village — for a hands-on Bizen-yaki pottery making experience — as well as the Shizutani School site, Japan’s first public school, dating back to the 17th century.

From Menlo Park Updates; used with permission
Ahalanui Park and Kua O Ka La School are overtaken by lava.