Lava Flow Destroys First Hawaiian Home

A stream of lava set a home on fire Monday in a rural Hawaii town that has been watching the slow-moving flow approach for months. The molten rock hit the house just before noon, said Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira. The home’s renters already had left the residence in Pahoa, the largest town in Big Island’s isolated and mostly agricultural Puna district. It took about 45 minutes for the 1,100-square-foot home to burn down, Oliveira said. "The house has been destroyed," he said.