Longer answer: the matter was decided in State by Kobayashi v. Zimring in 1977 (Supreme Court of Hawaii). They found that there was no applicable common law precedent, since land created by eruptions that impacts private title is very rare. The only precedent they found in Hawaii dates to 1877 (before Hawaii was US territory!) and it's not clear how to generalize it (note that Hawaiian land was the property of the King at the time). The closest thing is accretion by riverbanks and the like, which everyone in the case agreed wasn't particularly relevant. The court basically said "we're making completely new law here, so we can do whatever we want" and chose granting the land to the public interest as the proper solution.
Tangent: USGS is an incredible resource for those interested in the geosciences. Their website has grown a lot in the past few years, before which it was already replete with tons of great stuff!
They also have a ton of APIs available [0]. Way more than I figured, I just assumed because the earthquake monitoring app I check out every now and again uses USGS data but there’s a lot here! Glad you brought this up or I never would have searched for it.
Do you think Leilani Estates will meet the same fate as Kalapana? Seems like the fissure 20 became a new volcanic vent in the middle of the settlement.
I wish I could be there right now with a filming permit; last time I was filming there the flow was underwhelming, ceasing ocean entry and even Pu`u`o`o's lava lake was not very active.
Does anyone know what is the permit situation regarding drones these days?
The entire lower Puna area is open to residents only to facilitate evacuation should it become necessary. The main road into the area is suffering from massive cracking and SO₂ emissions. The other main road is only a hundred meters or so from one of the inactive lava flows. One of the minor connecting roads is now buried under lava, and the final one is an unpaved dirt road.
The nearby ocean is closed off to boats due to laze (that's steam mixed with hydrochloric acid and glass shards) hazard.
I was there just 5 days ago on an aircraft tour which flew directly above the fissures. We landed in Kona normally. The lava fountains are awe-inspiring. Here's what I was able to record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pn1MiYB5KQ
Most of the island is fine at the moment, but lava flow access from the erupting area is likely neither legal nor safe at this time, though conditions could change in the future.
Probably not. The height is above the cloud layer, and the flanks could well have too gradual a slope to see anything (as a result of being a shield volcano).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtihmXFWqGo