It is mesmerizing.

This is a big event for the big island of Hawaii. Apparently it is part of the Hilina Slump, which happens every 2 1/2 years, approximately. Parts of the island move closer to the ocean, it was about 2 feet this year, 11 feet in 1975. So this in not completely unexpected, however I think they had no idea of the scope of the event (maybe not really expecting the volcano to spew forth molten lava?), and experts are learning more every day about the behavior of volcanoes, lava flow, and much more. These people are just living among this slow-moving natural disaster (with no real end in sight), and we are able to observe it in real time.

The pictures are amazing. This home is about a half a mile from fissures 20 and 17. You can hear homeowners talking (it's voyeuristic fun to hear what they're experiencing), and I believe it's also being used as a home base by CNN and other news outlets to report from. There are sounds like explosions and jet engines periodically, which "is just the island." I can't imagine trying to sleep through that noise! Helicopters fly by to get close to the action. Rain falls fairly often. Oh, and there's Rusty the Rooster who crows whenever the mood strikes. This is entertaining on so many levels.

Prayers for the people of Hawaii.

(They restart the live feed from time to time, so here's a link to their page so you can click on the latest live stream, or watch past days' streams). If you can read the comments, people are hilarious. John P had this one: ♪If you wanna be my lava, you gotta get with my friends. Making lava forever. Lava never ends.♫ (Spice Girls, lol).

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