audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - The five volcanoes of Hawaii are revered as sacred mountains. Hawaiians associated elements of their natural environment with particular deities from mythology, the sky father Wakea marries the earth mother Papa, giving birth to the Hawaiian Islands. Kilauea itself means 'spewing' in Hawaiian, referencing its high state of activity, and is known as 'the body' of the deity Pele, goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes. An explosive eruption at Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has sent ash 30,000ft into the sky. Magma is draining underground from a sinking lava lake at Kilauea's 4,091-foot summit before flowing 25 miles east and bursting from giant cracks, with several flows reaching the ocean just over three miles away. At least 2,200 acres of land have been torched by lava since May 3, in what is likely to be the most destructive eruption of Kilauea in more than a century. The crippling fury of the volcano was let loose on the Big Island's Leilani Estates housing development, with the number of homes and other structures destroyed jumping to 82. Tourism provides 30 percent of the private sector jobs on the Big Island, concern has grown over the potential of a long-term hit on the island's economy. the National Park Service reported that the closure of the park alone could see $166 million in lost revenue. Though the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park remains closed, the eruption affects only a tiny corner of the Aloha state, a rural, 10 square mile area on one of the eight main islands. Honolulu is more than 200 miles from the erupting volcano. The state estimates the volcano has already cost Hawaii millions in tourism dollars, and now faces the tricky job of reassuring tourists that Hawaii is still open for business.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - A 50-60 foot wide river of lava makes its way to the sea near Malama Flats, on the island of Hawaii.
© Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 25, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - Fissure 7 reactivated with vigorous fountaining, sending flows through Leilani Estates, consuming several homes and property. Since the eruption began on May 3, Hawaii County has ordered about 2,000 people to evacuate from Leilani Estates and surrounding neighborhoods. Officials have said they may need to evacuate a thousand more people if lava crosses key highways and isolates communities in the mostly rural part of the island where the Kilauea volcano is erupting.
© Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - Lava spews from a fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - USGS geologists monitor a lava lake as it forms in the Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 25, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - A wide river of molten lava splits and enters the sea at Malama Flats on the Island of Hawaii. Lava entered the ocean from a third flow, marking the third week of a Kilauea volcano eruption that has opened up nearly two dozen vents in rural communities, destroyed dozens of buildings and shot miles-high plumes of ash into the sky.
© Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - The Hawaii National Guard watches the intense lava activity in the Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - Fissures let out steam and gases in the Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - USGS geologists monitor a lava lake as it forms in the Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - USGS geologists monitor a lava lake as it forms in the Leilani Estates subdivision.
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - The landscape in the Leilani Estates subdivision, situated on Kilauea's East Rift Zone,
© Ronit Fahl/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - Profuse degassing occurs at fissures within the Leilani Estates subdivision, as glowing vents indicate the close presence of molten lava.
© Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire

May 24, 2018 - Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S. - Two rivers of lava enter the sea this morning, as multiple fissure eruptions supplied a tremendous volume of molten material, and the interaction between the cold seawater and 2000 degree lava create a toxic gas plume of laze. Consisting of hydrochloric acid, steam, and tiny bits of volcanic glass, this mixture irritates and burns, and can cause respiratory issues.
© Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters/zReportage.com/ZUMA Wire