Hawaii volcano lava destroys hundreds of homes overnight

HONOLULU -- Lava destroyed hundreds of homes in mostly rural Hawaii area overnight, a county spokeswoman said Tuesday.

"We don't have an estimate yet, but safe to say that hundreds of homes were lost in Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland last night," said Janet Snyder, a spokeswoman for Hawaii County on the Big Island.

A morning overflight confirmed that lava completely filled Kapoho Bay, inundated most of Vacationland and covered all but the northern part of Kapoho Beach Lots, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

The hottest and fastest-moving lava of Kilauea volcano's latest eruption spread across new parts of the Big Island Wednesday, forcing officials to order evacuations in two coastal neighborhoods.

Lava early Tuesday destroyed Big Island Mayor Harry Kim's second home, Snyder said.

County Managing Director Wil Okabe said his own vacation home in Kapoho Beach Lots is also threatened. Okabe described the area as a mix of vacation rentals and year-round residences.

"For us it's more of a vacation area, but for those who live there permanently, they're trying to figure out where they're going to be living," he said.

MORE: How a drone, phone flashlight saved man trapped by lava

USGS scientists were using a drone to survey a fast-moving new lava flow when they received word that a man was trapped nearby.

"He was very depressed," Okabe said of how Kim felt about losing his vacation home. Kim and Okabe live in Hilo, the county's seat, which is more than an hour drive from the Kapoho area.

Thousands in the Puna area had to evacuate after lava fissures started opening in neighborhoods a month ago. Officials had issued mandatory orders for residents of Leilani Estates and those in Kapoho Beach and Vacationland to leave by Friday or risk being trapped and unreachable by emergency crews.