Volcanic gases prompt door-to-door evacuation in Hawaii
This Monday, May 7, 2018 photo from the U.S. Geological Survey shows cracks in Highway 130, outlined on orange paint, in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa on the island of Hawaii. Kilauea volcano has destroyed more than two dozen homes since it began spewing lava hundreds of feet into the air last week, and residents who evacuated don't know how long they might be displaced. The decimated homes were in the Leilani Estates subdivision, where molten rock, toxic gas and steam have been bursting through openings in the ground created by the volcano. (U.S. Geological Survey via AP)
A fissure erupts near the intersection of Kahukai Street and Leilani Avenue in Leilani Estates, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for two neighborhoods — Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens — on Thursday when the lava first emerged. There are 14 lava-producing fissures in Leilani Estates, after two new ones formed Tuesday. (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)
First Lt. Aaron Hew Len, of the U.S. National Guard, tests air quality near cracks that are emitting toxic gasses from a lava flow in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii, Tuesday, May 8, 2018. Scientists confirm that volcanic activity has paused at all 12 fissures that opened up in a Hawaii community and oozed lava that burned 35 structures. Officials warn that hazardous fumes continue to be released from the cracks in the ground. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
An emergency alert issued by Hawaii County is shown on a smartphone, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Hawaii. Police have gone door-to-door to evacuate residents in Hawaii as two new vents emitting dangerous volcanic gases opened Tuesday. The new vents prompted Hawaii County to issue the cell phone alert. Police followed up with personal visits. (Hawaii County via AP)
An evacuee carries a case of water at a makeshift donation center Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials have issued a cellphone alert warning residents of a subdivision to immediately evacuate after two new lava fissures opened in a neighboring community. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Volunteers and evacuees hold in hands while praying before serving dinner at a makeshift donation center Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials have issued a cellphone alert warning residents of a subdivision to immediately evacuate after two new lava fissures opened in a neighboring community. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
This May 6, 2018, false-color image taken from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) onboard NASA's Terra satellite shows new fissures with long yellow streaks being plumes of sulphur dioxide gas, during eruptions of the Kilauea volcano on the island of Hawaii. Red areas are vegetation, and black and gray areas are old lava flows. (NASA via AP)
Roy Piper, visiting from Canterbury, Conn., takes pictures as volcanic gases are emitted into the air Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials have issued a cellphone alert warning residents of a subdivision to immediately evacuate after two new lava fissures opened in a neighboring community. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
In this Saturday, May 5, 2018, photo, Edwin Montoya, 76, carries a bucket on his family's property near Pahoa, Hawaii. Just a couple of miles up the hill, lava has been gushing from the ground and destroying dozens of homes as new eruptions and earthquakes have rattled the region. His property is within the mandatory evacuation zone, but Montoya, who was finally able to get back to the farm on Saturday afternoon, plans to stay there unless he is forced to leave. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
Steam and sulfur rises from cracks in Moku Street at the head of a driveway in Leilani Estates, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Police have gone door-to-door to evacuate residents near two new vents emitting dangerous volcanic gases in Hawaii. The vents emerged near the spots where lava has been pouring into streets and backyards for the past week. (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)
A fissure erupts near the intersection of Kahukai Street and Leilani Avenue in Leilani Estate, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for two neighborhoods — Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens — on Thursday when the lava first emerged. There are 14 lava-producing fissures in Leilani Estates, after two new ones formed Tuesday. (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)
Firemen watch as a fissure begins to erupt near the intersection on Kahukai Street near the intersection of Leilani Avenue in Leilani Estates Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. There are 14 lava-producing fissures in Leilani Estates, after two new ones formed Tuesday. But the flow of lava is not constant. (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)
Evacuee Nina Bersamina, an elementary school teacher, stands next to her SUV loaded with her belongings while waiting to pick up some food at a makeshift donation center, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. "It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking because this is our home," said Bersamina. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Volunteer Chasity Quihano, right, uses a flashlight to sort donated goods in a container at a makeshift donation center, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials have issued a cellphone alert warning residents of a subdivision to immediately evacuate after two new lava fissures opened in a neighboring community. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A fissure erupts near the intersection of Kahukai Street and Leilani Avenue in Leilani Estates Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Pahoa, Hawaii. Hawaii County officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for two neighborhoods — Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens — on Thursday when the lava first emerged. (Hollyn Johnson/Hawaii Tribune-Herald via AP)
PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) — Police went door-to-door in Hawaii to roust residents near two new vents emitting dangerous gases in areas where lava has been pouring into streets and backyards for the past week.
Authorities ordered nearly 2,000 residents to leave two communities in the mostly rural district of Puna on Hawaii's Big Island last Thursday. Some ignored the order and stayed to watch over their property.
But on Tuesday, the emergence of the two new vents prompted Hawaii County to issue a cellphone alert ordering stragglers in Lanipuna Gardens to get out immediately. Police followed up with personal visits.
"There were a number of people at their residences," Talmadge Magno, the administrator for Hawaii County Civil Defense, said at a news briefing. There was no sign of holdouts in Lanipuna afterward, he said.
Edwin Montoya, 76, had planned to stay to care for animals and keep looters away from his family's property in neighboring Leilani Estates. But he was forced to evacuate after the new fissures emerged, including one just a mile away.
"I'm in my truck right now on my way up the road," he said. "The police came down here and made me."
Both communities are in a forested, remote part of the Big Island on the eastern flank of Kilauea volcano, which has been erupting continuously since 1983.
In recent years the volcano has mostly released lava in hard-to-reach areas inside a national park or along the coastline. But last week, vents popped open and released lava, gas and steam inside residential neighborhoods.
There's no indication when the eruption might stop, or how far the lava might spread.
There were about 1,700 residents in Leilani Estates and a few hundred in Lanipuna Gardens before last week.
Andrew Nisbet evacuated last week and has no idea what has happened since.
"My home is right in the line of the major breakouts so maybe, maybe not." he said Monday during a community meeting.
Authorities urged Scott Wiggers to evacuate, but he refused.
"I'm in the safest part in the subdivision. There's no threat to my house whatsoever," said Wiggers, a tour guide.
Wiggers said he wasn't leaving his home on the outskirts of the evacuation zone because he worried that if he did, he wouldn't be able to get back in. But he's prepared in case the situation takes a turn.
"I am packed. My truck is loaded. I'm not a dumb-dumb. If I see a threat, I'm out of here," he said.
Officials warn that lava could flow downhill and burn areas that are not currently in danger, and toxic volcanic gas could kill people, especially the elderly and those with breathing problems.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige told evacuees he has called the White House and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to tell officials that he believes the state will need help to deal with the volcano on the Big Island.
There are 14 lava-and-gas producing fissures in Leilani Estates, after the two new ones formed Tuesday. But the flow of lava is not constant.
A total of 36 structures, including 26 confirmed homes, have been destroyed. Aerial surveys cannot make out whether some of the structures are homes or other types of buildings.
–––
Associated Press journalists Jennifer Sinco Kelleher and Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.
