05-07-2014, 03:57 AM
quote:
Originally posted by unknownjulie
Great! So that flow is still burning forest everyday from what I can see...
This isn't like a mainland forest fire. Mainland forest fires are associated with temporary igniters like matches, cigarettes, lightning, campfires, arson, etc. On the mainland, these temporary igniters are associated with very dry conditions, dry trees, strong winds, etc. Also, on the mainland, forest fires are fought to put them out.
This forest fire is totally different. It is usually being extinguished almost every night by the rains. The ground is wet with rain runoff. The trees are not dry, being an ohia forest 100 years old in places. The igniter here is molten lava, and so far, doesn't show any signs of slowing down for many months. It is being downplayed that the front is now further than K1 and the width at this point is about 3 times when K1 stalled. This area is a dip in the terrain but that whole span between Pahoa and Eden Roc/HA is so gradual, it is almost a plain. That will cause spreading and pooling. But, to the south, there is the East Rift ridge, which will keep channeling the flow to the north east of the ridge.
There is now a lot of carbon soot that is being thrown up with the gigantic steam clouds that are going up. This is on the west hawaii paper, the caption saying provided by the USGS with unknown date, although the filename of the picture has 2011 in it, meaning this was probably a close up of K1 at the time. It's what the forest fire looks like close up, possibly a forest fire lasting for years before coming out of Wao Kele O Puna.
http://westhawaiitoday.com/sites/westhaw...n_0897.jpg
"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*