MAUNA LOA, Hawaii (KHON2) — Although the lava from Mauna Loa continues to slowly move forward, planning for all and every possible scenario continues full speed ahead.
“So should there be a brushfire? What does that look like. Should we have a mitigation fire plan and response fire plan,” said HIEMA officials.
Today, officials from Hawaii island Civil defense provided a tour for officials from FEMA as well as the Hawaii emergency management administration, or HIEMA.
The objective? To ensure the state stands ready to react if or when lava covers Daniel K Inouye highway or threatens any other critical infrastructure.
“We are aligning our planning efforts with those at Civil Defense and the state agencies and our federal partners. So, looking at a number of potential impacts as the lava continues to kind of pool in the area, in the saddle,” said Luke Meyers, a HIEMA administrator.
HIEMA administrator Luke Myers was part of the first team to arrive on Hawaii island Thursday, Dec.1. Additional team members will continue to rotate in and out as the eruption continues.
Talmadge Magno, the Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator, said, “they are definitely leaning forward to the state and federal levels but if we get to the point, we need those resources they could be pushed out that much faster. They bring a different level because HIEMA is our Nexus to the federal government so they bring that level of connection for this whole event.”
HIEMA was also on island for the 2018 eruption that devastated Leilani Estates and Kapoho. Nothing of that magnitude is expected to happen with this eruption. However …
“The planning will continue. We got a plan for the worst hope for the best, but they allow us to plan for that worst case scenario,” added Mango.
“There are a number of scenarios that could unfold from where we are right now. The most immediate scenario that we’re looking at are potential impacts to Saddle Road and the lava continuing down into that area and disrupting traffic and other economic consequences over there on the Big Island,” explained Meyers.