For as long as I can remember, my wife and I wanted to visit Hawaii.  A few years back we got the chance when Hawaii University invited me to come there and speak on writing. It was beautiful.  The islands are full of amazing scenes – the vegetation is fantastic and natural wonders seem to be everywhere.  This past week, one of those natural wonders has been threatening to destroy the island of Hawaii, the largest of three islands that make up the state.  One of the most popular tourist attractions on what locals refer to as “the big island” has been the Kilauea volcano which has been bubbling for years providing a big thrill with no real danger for visitors from all over the globe.  That’s all changed now as Kilauea has begun erupting.  So, far it’s been a slow blow, not like the massive explosive that Mt. St. Helens was in 1980.  If that happens there will be no more big island and not much left of the others as well.   The lava shooting out of openings in the ground has already destroyed twenty-one homes and forced more than seventeen hundred people to evacuate.  Tesha “Mirah” Montoya, 45, said toxic fumes escaping from the lava vents weren’t enough to make her family evacuate, but the tipping point were the earthquakes. And the way it’s looking, people may not be able to return the their homes for quite some time. “I have no idea how soon we can get back,” said Todd Corrigan, who left his home in Leilani Estates with his wife on Friday, as lava burst through the ground three or four blocks from their home. They spent the night on the beach in their car and began looking for a vacation rental.

Hawaii County civil defense officials said two new fissures opened overnight, bringing the total to nine that have opened in the neighborhood since Thursday. U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist Wendy Stovall said that with the two new fissures, the total was 10, though one of the new ones had already stopped producing lava.

Scientists said Kilauea was likely to release more lava through additional vents, but they were unable to predict exactly where. Leilani Estates, a subdivision in the mostly rural district of Puna, is at greatest risk. Authorities ordered more than 1,700 residents to evacuate from there and nearby Lanipuna Gardens. Montoya, her husband and daughter don’t know how long they will be away from the three-story octagonal house they built nearly 20 years ago in a patch of “raw jungle.” “My heart and soul’s there,” she said in a phone interview from a cabin on the north side of the Big Island, where the family had hunkered down. “I’m nothing without the land. It’s part of my being.”

Gary McMillan said his home is about 3,000 feet from one of the fissures in Leilani Estates. He monitored remote cameras set up in his home and said his home was still intact.  He’s living out of his van with his wife at the nearby community center and constantly thinks about things they left behind, but understands why authorities evacuated residents. “I was a critical care nurse for 37 years, so I understand the health implications and the dangers involved,” McMillan said.

Kilauea has been continuously erupting since 1983 and is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. In 2014, lava burned a house and smothered a cemetery as it approached Pahoa, the town closest to Leilani Estates. But this flow stalled just before it reached Pahoa’s main road.  Nearly 30 years ago, lava slowly covered an entire town, Kalapana, over the period of about a year.

According to authorities lava fissures opened in the Leilani subdivision this weekend and shot fountains of lava up to 230 feet in the air.  “I met many people who are frightened and deeply concerned about losing everything they’ve worked for all their lives,” Hawaii Governor David Ige said. “I’ve heard from people who have already lost their home. My heart goes out to these families. I reassured them that the county, state and the federal governments are working together to do everything in our power to help them get through this, to ensure their welfare and safety, and to assure them that we are here for the long haul. This is a resilient community. Even during this frightening and unpredictable time — these residents are pulling together, donating food, water and time to care for their neighbors.”

Like people say about those who live in the great forest fire zones of the Pacific Northwest or those who choose the leave in beach houses in Malibu that can be swept away by the sea or mudslides, someday soon people may be asking “why would people live next to a volcano?” Hopefully, Hawaii will be spared. It seems that everywhere there is great beauty, lurking nearby is a mighty destructive force.