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I imagine a town split in two by the lava (if it keeps going, and keeps going n the current direction).
The tourism potential is huge! As anyone who has walked out to the lava flows in the past knows, it is safe to walk over the lava soon after it has arrived. I see long lines of tour buses, rental cars being sold out, full flights to Hilo.
I hope Pahoa can seize the day.
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I see air tour connects with smaller planes,island Air & Mokulele, from Oahu, Kaui, Maui, even Kona to explore the exotic, secluded lower Puna, Full VAC rentals & BnBs, Rental Cos (maybe electric vehicles?) solar elec, (tie the two together, make that car battery bank WORK!) horse back riding, utilizing the warm ponds & Onemea for more exotic delights...Pohoiki, Kaimu, SPACE, Kalani & 4 corners as CENTERS! people remembering when the highway connected them to the 'rat race'
but I do have way too much optimism for reality...
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How are all the tour buses supposed to get there? 130 was backed up past the credit union from 3:00pm until almost 7.
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Not much traffic on a dead end street.
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Wowser they need to finish the widening of 130 like last week already. I left Leilani for a Dr. Appointment on Monday and expected to get to kaiser 30 minutes early and got there 20 minutes late. Bumper to bumper crawl for 8 or more miles along 130.
OK enough griping for today/week ~ back to easy peasy mode.
As Pog would say: Aloha
Andrew
quote:
Originally posted by terracore
How are all the tour buses supposed to get there? 130 was backed up past the credit union from 3:00pm until almost 7.
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Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times".
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Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times".
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Punatopia or Punocolypse?
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Punlandia...
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Why is the lava just going to split the town in two and not eat the whole thing? If it keeps putting lava out on the side of Pu'u O'o like it is, wouldn't it eventually look like the other side of Pu'u O'o? One would suppose the end result will look kinda like a fan of lava spread out until it reaches the ocean. That will probably take a few years since the last one did, too, but unless it stops or goes back to putting lava out the other side of Pu'u O'o, then it is almost inevitable.
Any businesses that start up in a lava flow zone are gonna have to be mobile, so that's tents and truck vendors. Perhaps Pahoa will become like Maku'u Market? Then the vendors stock isn't at risk of being covered by lava since it would be mobile. As the lava advances, then the market relocates. You'd have to have a team of folks finding the next location and getting it prepared, though.
So far, Carey, (IMHO) the prognosis you're visualizing seems more along the line of wishful thinking than even optimism since generally optimism has a bit broader basis in reality. The lava has been flowing in the Puna area for decades, so if these sorts of businesses were to be brought about by flowing lava, then they would already be in existence. As for businesses becoming viable due to seclusion, generally that's not the typical reaction. From what I've noticed in retail, any time you make it harder for the customer to get to what ever it is you are selling, the less of it will be sold. In this case, the harder it is to get somewhere, the less the general public will show up. You may get some few folks willing to be off in the middle of nowhere, but even then the "nowhere" has to be "somewhere" to go. And it's a Catch 22 situation, folks aren't going to set up a business until it is somewhere that folks want to be and it won't be that until folks set up businesses and places for folks to go. As for folks on vacation, generally they want comfort, entertainment, interesting experiences and rum drinks with little umbrellas in it and a tee shirt that says they went there.
If the lava would fountain up in the air like it did at the very beginning, then you'd have the loads of folks rushing to see it. Lava oozing around the ground has been happening for too long to get all that much excitement. Lava eating buildings would bring out a few folks, I'd expect, although a lot of folks would also stay away out of respect for the building owner's losses.
In the meantime, probably Keaau will grow larger as most of the population that can move and businesses shift to that area. Pahoa was becoming busy and viable as it's own town because the highway had been widened all the way to Pahoa. When the road was narrow and bumpy, Pahoa town wasn't much. As the road became wider and smoother, more folks moved in and larger businesses moved in. Taking away the access to Pahoa and lower Puna is not going to make anything thrive.
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
"I like yard sales," he said. "All true survivalists like yard sales."
Kurt Wilson
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There will be no fountains around pahoa. Fountains occur at the eruption site, and the eruption site is Puu Oo, and it hasn't had any significant fountains for a long time. All there will be is lava flows, forest fires, heat and fumes.
