Kalapana, Hawaii Burning: The History of Kilauea's Catastrophic Lava Flow

For nearly five months now, lava from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano has crept toward communities on the Big Island, threatening to incinerate any and all structures in its path. Luckily, that hasn't happened, but if history is any indication, residents in Pahoe village and other communities directly in the path of the encroaching lava should be very worried.
Lava first started erupting from Kilauea in January 1983 and hasn't stopped since. For the first three years thick lava known as ʻAʻā spewed from one of Kilauea's vents, known as Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō, and flowed to the southeast, accelerating down some of the area's steepest terrain. Residents of the tiny community of Royal Gardens, which lay just under four miles to the southeast of the active vent were directly in the path of lava flows. And, in 1983, lava destroyed 16 homes there.
Activity at Kilauea would only get worse in the next four years. Lava eruptions shifted to the east and out of a new vent, known as Kupaianaha, putting three larger communities at risk: Waha`ula, Kapa`ahu and Kalapana furthest to the east. Smoother, less viscous lava known as pāhoehoe oozed slowly out of the vent and into lava tubes, slowly moving to the south and east. First, lava cut through Kapa`ahu in 1986, then it shifted slightly to the east, smothering another 14 homes, this time on the outer limits of the larger, historic fishing village of Kalapana.

USGS

But for the next three years the lava largely ran out to sea. Residents of Kalapana thought that they had dodged the worst possible scenario. But they'd soon realize that the previous seven years of activity at Kilauea were nothing compared to what would happen next.
Eventually, in 1990, blockages formed in the lava tubes that carried lava out to sea. Lava backed-up and spilled out of the tubes and onto the surface, pushing lava further and further east, closer to Kalapana.
Soon, the lava was flowing through Kalapana and cutting a course through the heart of town. From April 3, 1990, to February of 1991 lava poured into the streets of Kalapana, igniting homes and cars and burying parks, streets and other infrastructure in a layer of volcanic rock up to 85 feet deep. Lava pushed straight through Kalapana and out into the sea, consuming the famous black sand beach at Kaimu, and creating a new coastline that extended nearly 1,000 feet further into the Pacific Ocean.
Thanks to the slow-moving nature of lava, no lives were lost, but more than 150 homes destroyed.
Now, more than two decades later, nothing remains of the old Kalapana but waves of black rock, a poignant reminder of the unpredictable and destructive power of Kilauea's lava. Incredibly, a new subdivision of 30 plus homes known as Kalapana Gardens was erected on top of buried Kalapana, Honolulu Magazine reports.
But as recently as 2011, lava from Kilauea once again flowed into the area, destroying a home in the new neighborhood.