Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Hawaii Lava Flow Progresses Towards Destruction

By Douglas V. Gibbs

A lava flow from a volcano in Hawaii is not out of the ordinary.  The slow lava flow making its way towards a shopping center and gas station is.  The estimated collision is expected to occur in about a week, after the lava flow journeys one more mile.  The shopping area includes a hardware store, pharmacy and auto repair shop.

Like a tornado, the lava flow may be selective in its destruction, or move through all of the structures in the complex.

The market, one of the largest stores in the shopping center, is preparing for the worst, but keeping its doors open as long as possible for shoppers.  The owners of the gas station are hoping to sell off the remaining fuel, but if any remains when the lava flow reaches the station, they will pump out the remaining fuel and fill its tanks with water and firefighting foam.  The water and firefighting foam allows the gas station to remove all flammable vapors, while preserving the pumping system, and allowing the gas station to use the tanks again if lava bypasses the area and it wants to reopen.

Over the last few months, the town of under a thousand people has seen a house burn down, and the lava flow covering part of a cemetery.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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