A volcano eruption on Hawaii is slowly oozing 2,100-degree lava toward dozens homes and it cannot be stopped. Here’s a look at all the times people have tried.
Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has been erupting continuously since 1983. The current flow started on June 27 and so far has advanced 13 miles downslope toward Pahoa, where over 1,000 residents have been tracking its path in anticipation. Homeowners will be allowed to watch their structures burn, when they eventually meet their fate.
Obviously, the lava is scary, but why can't it be stopped? Here's a breakdown of some of the times people have tried.
Bombs are dropped into the volcano on Hawaii's Big Island.
In 1935, the U.S. government actually bombed lava flowing from Hawaii's Mauna Loa. General George S. Patton, before he became famous for his efforts in World War II, decided to find out if dropping bombs on lava tunnels would force them to collapse.
It didn't work, as the bombs didn't have enough accuracy to hit the tunnels or enough strength to break through the lava's hardened crust. The flow stopped on its own in January the next year.
In 1960, a University of Hawaii volcanologist used bulldozers to build a wall, trying to divert a flow from Kilauea that was heading towards Puna. The lava went over the wall, so he built another wall. Lava went over that wall too.
"Eventually he gave up," said UH Geology Professor Michael Garcia. "He said if Pele is going to take it, she's going to take it."
People from Hawaii often say one does not mess with Pele, the Hawaiian goddess who embodies the volcano, whose immense power should always be respected.
Two decades later, as lava was heading straight for the town of Kalapana, residents tried to spray the flow with water in an attempt to cool and stop it. The water may have cooled the lava a bit, but it didn't stop it as it continued on its path and destroyed the town.
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